Dreams Aren't Real
by Dashel
Summary: Naruto is dreaming about Sasuke every night. Is this a chance to make peace with his old friend before the end or something else entirely?
1. Dreams About Frogs in Flowers

_**Dash General Warnings (Important, please read): **This is Yaoi. If you are still here I will also add that this fic will probably contain swearing and sex and all sorts of other goodies. Still here? Well this fic might also contain no predetermined roles in respect to sexual activities. Yep, I have to add this as a warning now. But what that means is that in my stories no one is ever solely uke or seme or batman or whatever predefined roles people might expect. Or they might be but I might not know who it will be from the beginning. Sometimes one person will top, sometimes the other will depending on my mood or where the story needs to go. Sometimes it will switch mid story if I feel like it. Please do not continue if you have preferences for either character and will be upset if whoever you expect to top doesn't. Generally not even I know who will do what at the very beginning of a fic and will decide as I go along. They may not swap at all, but I like to keep my options open and I do not want to make people read multiple chapters of my fic only to dislike the sex scenes. _

_Notes: This is a present fic done for Gaby for being my first Dashdom supporter so you can thank her and give her big praises for any enjoyment you might have reading this I hope you enjoy this too Gaby because this was after all written for you and I hope it lives up to expectations. But just remember that all presents are non refundable lol._

_Summary: Naruto is dreaming about Sasuke every night. Is this a chance to make peace with his old friend before the end or something else entirely?_

_Disclaimer: I do not own these character even though sometimes I feel they may own me just a little bit_

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**By Dash**

**Chapter 1**

**Dreams About Frogs in Flowers**

The forest was amazing, Naruto had never seen anything like it. The trees were so tall and so large that it would have taken five of his shadow clones with their hands clasped and arms outstretched to encircle some of the larger ones. There was no grass growing beneath the trees, the canopy above his head was so thick and so closely packed that very little if any real light filtered down to ground level. The only things on the forest floor were moss covered rocks and small ferns. The air smelt damp like it had just been raining.

He loved that smell. He tipped his head back and drew in a deep breath savoring it. He wore only simple white pants, no shirt and no shoes.

He opened his eyes just a little, still with his head facing toward the canopy far above his head in time to see a dark flash streak across his field of vision amongst the branches of the trees.

Peaceful moment shattered, Naruto's eyes snapped the rest of the way open and his head moved to keep the retreating black shadow in his field of view. Before it disappeared entirely Naruto ran up the tree and set off in pursuit. He didn't really know why he was chasing the shadow. He knew that it was a person and not an animal by the basic shape and movement. But the shadow was fast and Naruto could barely keep them in his view as they raced through the trees. The person was little more than a blur to Naruto, but Naruto kept after them, curious about the strange ninja who had disturbed his peaceful moment. He wasn't angry about it, just interested.

He did start to gain on the stranger after a while of chasing but he was so focused on his target that he missed a step and fell forward.

He yelled as he fell toward the ground far below him and just as he was about to hit it he…

…woke up yelling in his bed.

The sheets were twisted around him and he was sweating. When he realized it had been just a dream and he wasn't plummeting to his death after all, he breathed a little easier and grinned.

"Just a dream."

* * *

><p>"You look terrible," Sakura commented while they were travelling through the trees on a mission later that day. It reminded Naruto a lot of his dream last night. But the trees here were small in comparison, he could see the sun filtering through the branches and he wasn't chasing a dark shadow.<p>

The mission they were on wasn't meant to be a long mission, nor very important, and no one in the team expected to be gone for the whole day let alone overnight. All they had to do was run a message to a nearby village. It was slightly too important to leave to the messenger birds, but not important enough for the team to be taking either of their usual jonin captains. The village was close anyway so no doubt having a jonin with them would have been overkill. Team 7 would be doing this for a number of days going back and forth between the villages in the Fire nation, delivering important missives informing village heads of the need for supplies after the village had been decimated by Pain. Naruto was only a little surprised that Tsunade would use him for such a job or any of them for that matter when sending younger genin would probably suffice. When he'd brought it up though, Sakura had hit him and then reminded him that he _was _a genin before informing him that she would be the one leading the squad over the next couple of weeks.

"_Isn't Sai a jonin or something?" _Naruto had asked before realizing that Sai had never actually told them what rank he was before. Naruto just assumed that to be in Anbu you had to be a jonin.

_ "Tsunade-sama told me I was the best equipped to lead the team. Sai and I have already talked about this and he agrees."_

_ "I am not much of a leader_," Sai had told him, backing Sakura up._ "I could not control you as well as Sakura does."_

Sai had probably meant it as a compliment for Sakura, but it had been pretty insulting for Naruto.

Even if it did happen to be true.

"So mean Sakura-chan! I didn't get very good sleep last night."

"Nightmares?" Sakura asked with a surprising amount of concern.

It was weird, she had been doubly nice to him since she'd accidently poisoned him. It might have been from guilt over that, or of course it might have been residual guilt over the last confrontation he had with Sasuke which had happened at the same time. Since he had told Sasuke he would fight him and that they would both probably die because of it, she had seemed a lot more considerate towards him. Of course she still hit him a lot, but she listened to him a lot more and seemed generally more concerned over his state of mind and feelings. It was nice…but really creepy mostly.

"No, not nightmares. I was in a beautiful forest with huge trees that blocked out the sunlight, it was really cool. But then I started chasing after someone and I tripped and fell and then I woke up. It's a horrible feeling," Naruto remembered shivering, "falling in your dreams. You wake up with a jolt and your heart is pounding."

"What do you think it means?"

"What does what mean?" Naruto asked confused.

"Your dream! Don't you believe that your dreams have meaning?"

"No," Naruto responded immediately. "Dreams aren't real."

"I don't mean that they are," Sakura responded obviously irritated that Naruto wasn't seeing her point. "I just mean that a lot of people believe that dreams are a way for your subconscious mind to tell you things or work things out for you. That your dreams are trying to tell you something that you wouldn't be able to sort through on your own while you are awake."

Naruto was thoroughly confused by this point.

"What about you Sai? Do you think your dreams have meanings?" Naruto ask Sai on the other side of him.

"I don't remember having dreams."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "You are so weird, Sai. Besides," he continued toward Sakura, "I don't think this dream could be telling me something. It was just a bunch of trees and stuff."

"Well you said you were chasing someone, right?" Sakura asked apparently keen to prove something.

"So? That wasn't really a big part of the dream anyway. It was mainly the huge trees and the falling that got me."

"It could represent a falling or rather failing need to compensate for size," Said offered. "You said the trees were oversized right?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Naruto yelled obviously understanding what Sai meant but pretending not to.

Sakura chuckled. "I don't think so. The trees were really big and maybe a little overwhelming right? Well I could see how everything is a little overwhelming for you right now considering what's been happening lately. But you aren't scared by it, you sound like you liked the forest you dreamt of. Of course, that was before you fell. Maybe Sai is on to something though, perhaps you are a little scared of missing your step and falling or in this instance, as Sai suggested, failing."

Naruto did think through what Sakura had told him even though he didn't really get most of it. It all sounded pretty far-fetched to him. Dreams were just dreams right? They didn't have to mean anything.

"So what about that dream I had that my bowl of ramen tried to eat me?" Naruto tried hoping to dissuade her from thinking she was right about this.

"Role reversal," Sakura came back after a moment of thought. "Your body is trying to tell you that you eat far too much of it."

Sakura seemed determined to prove herself right, but by this point Naruto got the impression she was reaching a little despite her confident answers and was just as determined to prove she was talking shit.

"You know Sakura-chan, I've had a few dreams about you too," Naruto told her with a smirk. "Does that mean we are destined to be together?"

"I doubt it," she replied flatly.

"But you didn't even wait to hear what they were about! In one of them you were-"

But Naruto didn't get a chance to continue because Sakura hit him mid jump. He was lucky enough to stop himself from falling in time, but he had the distinct impression that Sakura was now done trying to prove that dreams really meant something for the rest of the day.

It was almost worth being hit.

* * *

><p>That night after they returned from the mission, Naruto was standing beneath those same trees in his dream, looking up at the branches far above his head. Enjoying the cool breeze on the bare skin of his upper body he almost missed the shadow streak over his head again. But he was a little more prepared this time, he jumped as soon as he saw it and was after the other ninja before he got too far away.<p>

The other ninja, he could see it was a man now, was dressed similarly to Naruto in dark pants and little else. He had very pale skin and dark black hair. He looked so familiar.

The ninja seemed to know someone was chasing him this time and when Naruto got close, the ninja turned and threw something at him. Kunai! Naruto would have dodged, but he then saw the other person's face and was so surprised he couldn't move fast enough. Half dodging, half in shock Naruto hit a branch, slipped and fell again.

He woke before he hit the ground once more, sitting up in bed, breathing hard and yelling a name. His name.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated in a calmer tone.

He just sat there and breathed for a little while before a smile started at the corner of his mouth. Then it spread over the rest of his face, then he started to chuckle softly. It wasn't really a happy sort of laugh.

It wasn't bad enough that he spent most of his waking hours chasing Sasuke or trying to find Sasuke, now he was even dreaming about it. It was funny in a sad sort of way.

Maybe there was a little something to what Sakura had been talking about after all. Things that were worrying him or affecting him in real life had obviously started to intrude on his dreams as well and that was more than a little disturbing to say the least. The big forest may well represent the overwhelming feeling he was experiencing from the pressure and the situations he found himself in and his relative importance to it all. His near nakedness could mean he felt unprepared and unprotected to face it. And the falling may well be his fear of failing and what failure meant not only to him, but those around him. And all through this he was still chasing Sasuke, always a few steps behind, always failing to catch him and bring him home.

Though why Sasuke wasn't wearing a lot of clothes as well was a bit baffling. Maybe he thought Sasuke needed protection too, but he really couldn't swallow that idea. Sasuke didn't need protection and he was very capable of taking care of himself it seemed. _Though, _Naruto reflected picturing him in the dream, _he could sure use a bit of sun._

Pushing that weird thought aside, he decided to see what Sakura made of this development and also he figured the next time he had the dream, he could be a little more prepared to face it. He knew the dream for what is was now so he wouldn't be taken by surprise again.

He may not be able to catch up to Sasuke in real life, but maybe he could stop being so tormented in his dreams too.

* * *

><p>The next morning there was another messenger mission and another boring run through the Fire country to another boring little village. They had nothing to do but run and talk. Surprisingly, even after trying to kill him yesterday, it was Sakura who asked Naruto if he'd had the dream again.<p>

"What makes you think I did?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because you look terrible again. You know, if the dreams are bothering you that much I could make something up for you that would make you sleep without dreaming."

"That sounds too much like death, Sakura-chan," Naruto said distastefully.

"It is not, it's just a sleeping draught. It won't kill you."

"If you say so. But I'm okay for now, I'm not that tired."  
>Sakura nodded. "So was the dream the same?"<p>

"Pretty much," Naruto admitted. "Except this time I almost caught the person I was chasing. It was Sasuke."

"You're dreaming about him?" Sai asked curiously.

"It's not surprising really," Sakura responded before Naruto could. "I did think that this shadow you were chasing might turn out to be him when you were talking about it yesterday."

She then went on to explain why he might be dreaming about chasing Sasuke, which pretty well summed up what Naruto had already thought of. But she did have a more in-depth explanation about it than he did.

"It's interesting that all of this other stuff doesn't bother you and you are all cool, calm and collected until you start chasing him and that's when you fall. I think you are more worried about failing him than you are about failing the village in the grand scheme of things."

"You think so?"

"Well it makes a sort of sense. Everything that's been thrown at you so far in life you've been able to overcome except what happened to Sasuke. You may well see it as the only time when you have really failed at anything really important."

She was possibly pushing metaphors a little too far, but it was something for him to think about.

* * *

><p>He'd had the same kind of dream now six times consecutively and he knew with a kind of certainty that tonight would be different. They had all pretty much gone the same way as the first two but tonight he was ready for the dream. As soon as he closed his eyes and found himself in the forest Naruto went up into the trees and hid, waiting for the shadow to appear.<p>

He was sick of falling or failing, or whatever the fuck was going on here and he was going to put a stop to apparently the only changing thing in his dreamscape. He was going to capture Sasuke.

The last four times he had tried to catch him he had failed to catch the fleeing Uchiha and he was getting sick of being left behind or falling out of the trees only to wake up in a cold sweat. He wasn't going to let that happen again so he'd come up with a new plan. Ambush!

He wasn't in the dream long when the shadow slipped across the nook where he was hiding. As quickly as a lightening strike he was up and after it. Determination drove him to be faster than his quarry and he managed to grab a hold of Sasuke's arm before the other ninja seemed to even notice he was there.

Sasuke responded in the way good training and quick reflexes allowed and turned at the touch bringing his leg around in order to kick Naruto in the head.

It was the first time he'd made physical contact with Sasuke within his dream and he was surprised at how realistic the feel of his cool smooth skin was against his fingers. Still, it wasn't enough to put him off entirely. He ducked the kick and didn't let go of Sasuke's arm. And now because Sasuke had twisted his body around, Naruto could use that arm to his advantage. He forced it up behind Sasuke's back bent at the elbow and pushed it up far enough to really hurt. It had the intended effect though and immobilized Sasuke long enough for Naruto to talk to him.

"Sasuke, just listen to me-"

He couldn't see Sasuke's face while he was standing behind him like this, but he could feel the hate in his voice as he responded.

"No! I'm sick of you talking, trying to win me over and take me back. You never get that it will never happen! And I will not listen to you anymore, I especially don't have to listen to you here of all places!"

It was actually a bit of a rant and Naruto was painfully reminded of the last time he had tried to talk to Sasuke. It was probably the first time he had really noticed the impact all this was having on him. Sasuke's mind was beginning to crack and it had made his heart break when he realized it wasn't going to be any different in his dream. He sounded the same now: angry, unhappy, and just a little demented.

Naruto let him go quickly.

Sasuke jumped away and landed on a branch across from the one Naruto had caught him on. He crouched there and glared at Naruto apparently wary of his constant pursuer trying something else.

But Naruto's dream had become a little too realistic for his tastes. He didn't want to waste his time trying to talk to a Sasuke that wasn't real but still hated him as much as the real one did. He still had hopes for Sasuke in some small way, but he would be hard to convince. For now here, he felt it wasn't worth the effort. This Sasuke wasn't real, convincing this Sasuke to listen to him would do no good in the real world. And knowing all this and chasing Sasuke down night after night was tormenting especially considering this Sasuke hated him just as much as the real one. It was a reminder he could certainly do without. And what happened if he did try to convince this Sasuke and this Sasuke just fought back, ignored his pleas or simply tried to kill him? It might well kill his hopes for the real Sasuke.

He could even see that little crack in Sasuke's sanity reflected in his eyes. Those dark black eyes. It was too much. Naruto turned away and ran.

* * *

><p>"I think maybe that you did something you half want to do in real life," Sakura concluded the next day while they walked down the streets of a neighboring village.<p>

"That's not true!" Naruto exclaimed surprised at her reaction to this latest development.

Sakura and possibly even Sai, but mostly Sakura, had developed a strange sort of fascinated addiction to hearing about Naruto's latest dreams. He didn't know why, maybe she found it interesting, but maybe she just liked hearing about it because Sasuke was featured. Every day for the past week she had asked him if anything new had happened, keen to show off her apparently keen insight into his subconscious mind. She had not offered to make him the sleeping tonic again.

"I know you would never give up on him," Sakura explained further. "But you have to admit that sometimes it would be easier on you just to forget and let go."

"I could never do that."

"I know that! Aren't you listening? I know you would never give up on him, I'm merely suggesting that what happened last night could just be a reflection on some small part of your mind that wishes the whole thing would all go away, that's all. I'm not suggesting you ever would, but it's not difficult to believe that you're finding the situation between the two of you stressful to say the least."

Maybe she had a point.

Maybe.

* * *

><p>It wasn't like he didn't want to see Sasuke. In his dreams he caught glimpses of him now and again and each time his heart gave a little flutter of excitement at the sight. But it was an uncontrollable reaction and he fought the urge to give chase every single time. He would never give up on his friend, never, but he refused to let himself be tortured in his sleep. So he stayed away from Sasuke night after night in the forest in his dreams deciding instead to explore his little dreamscape more and try to forget about the only other person that seemed to inhabit his little dream world.<p>

Over at least six more nights he explored the ground, spotted lots of tiny little red-capped mushrooms with bright blue spots and ferns with green and striped bright purple leaves. He climbed the trees and found a whole new ecosystem up in the treetops. There was a whole range of animals and plants up here, but what he found most interesting was the flowers that grew all the way up here in the only place they could find water and sunlight in the otherwise dark forest underneath the canopy. Most fascinating was a flower that grew in the crooks of the tree branches, with no soil for them to grow in, the roots seemed to just wrap around the tree branches. The flowers faced upwards and were full of water. Inside the flowers, living in the water he found the tiniest little green and blue frogs. Frogs! These frogs might live their whole lives inside the flowers, in their own little world, never ever seeing anything outside the flower.

Naruto loved these flowers and he became fascinated by them.

"Lucky frogs."

He was squatting on a branch staring down into the little world of frogs when he felt someone watching him. Again.

He had so far ignored the urge to chase down Sasuke and the more he ignored the urge, the more he felt Sasuke's presence around him, watching him. It was like he was testing him or teasing him to follow. But Naruto refused time and again to take the bait. Sasuke had gotten closer and closer to him every night, until this time when it seemed Sasuke's curiosity in the new uninterested Naruto overtook his need to run or stay away.

Naruto heard him land on a branch behind him but didn't look around. Half of him wanted to ignore the presence like always. Half of him wanted to break out into a big smile and turn around. Ignorance won out as well as common sense. Either way, there was no use spooking him.

After Naruto still refused to acknowledge his presence, Sasuke took a bolder step forward and joined him on the same branch. He walked up and looked down at what Naruto was so intently staring at. He still seemed poised for something though. Whether it was to fight or run, Naruto didn't know and pretended to ignore either way.

Eventually Sasuke spoke. And he didn't sound angry, didn't sound distant, actually he didn't speak in any of the same tones he'd heard from Sasuke most recently. "What are you looking at?"

Still, it was more of a demand than the nicely worded question Naruto pretended it was.

"I don't know what the flower is called, but it's amazing. See all the little frogs that live inside?"

"I see it," Sasuke told him. "I just don't see what's so great about it. You've come here the last three nights and stared at those flowers, I don't get it."

So dream Sasuke had been watching him huh?

Naruto sighed. "No, I suppose you wouldn't."

A few moments of silence passed and then surprisingly, Sasuke squatted down on the other side of the flower and took a closer look. Naruto peered across at him while trying hard to appear that he wasn't.

Sasuke's dark hair fell down over his pale face a little so it was difficult to see his entire expression, but this was the first time since they'd been kids that Naruto had been to close to Sasuke without either of them holding a weapon or trying to hurt one another. When his face wasn't twisted with anger, when his eyes weren't staring hate or crazy at him, he could see why the girls found him so handsome, more so now than when they were children. His body was healthy looking though perhaps a little on the thin side and he was so pale his skin looked like milk.

"I guess it's kind of interesting," Sasuke admitted after a moment, forcing Naruto out of his own thoughts.

"C'mon Sasuke, this is so cool."

Sasuke huffed softly, "Whatever, dobe."

For a moment it was almost like it was when they were kids. Naruto's enthusiasm for the little things and Sasuke's complete disinterest in anything that wasn't immediately useful or powerful.

He was about to try for another conversation when Sasuke abruptly stood up and left without a word. Naruto watched him go and didn't try to follow. When Sasuke was out of sight Naruto went back to looking inside the flower and the tiny little frogs.

Well it had been brief but at least it was something.

* * *

><p>"Your dream is telling you that you try too hard. Maybe if you relax a little and let things come to you you'd have better luck in real life."<p>

They were sitting at Ichiraku's eating lunch while Naruto told her about the latest installment of his dream. He knew that it had become an obsession for Sakura when she came over on their only day off this week and told him she would treat him to lunch at his favorite place. When he filled her in she had become excited that he had finally made contact with Sasuke in the dream and was especially curious about how he looked and sounded.

"It's just a dream," Naruto reminded her. "I know you're having fun trying to poke into my psyche and everything but you're getting way too into it."

"C'mon Naruto, how can you not find this interesting?"

"Because," Naruto started putting his weary head in his hand, "I'm too tired to find anything about this real interesting anymore Sakura-chan."

Sakura watched him for a moment with a little concern. "You've been having these dreams every night for almost two weeks. And it's not even a proper reoccurring dream exactly because you seem to have complete control of your actions in the dream and little details change every time you have it."

"What's your point?"

"It's a little weird. I've never heard of anyone having dreams like this before. The details are so intricate and realistic. And it's making you exhausted. Maybe we should get Tsunade-sama to have a look at you." She finished and Naruto noted, rather reluctantly.

"I'll be okay," Naruto told her sitting up and attempting to look alert. "It can't last forever."

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Famous last words huh? So this is a little different than the norm and I hope people are enjoying it. I wasn't going to jump straight into another sasunaru fic but since this is a present and the recipient of said present wanted the pairing, how could I refuse? This will not be as long as the last one so please, review and let me know what you think. You never know, lots of reviews might mean more chapters yay!<em>

_ Dash._


	2. Dreams About Fish in Reeds

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 2**

**Dreams about Fish in Reeds**

Tonight, Naruto thought that his forest dreaming was finally over. While he slept this night he dreamed of a small sandy beach around a huge clear watered coastal inlet. His forest was gone and so were his flowers and frogs. He still wore the same pants but they were slightly more gray than white this time round. But instead of the forest there was just the white sand of the beach in the little cove he found himself in. The little beach was bordered by high rocks that went right out into the water, curving around and shielding the little inlet from the wind and the rougher water that Naruto could just see out beyond. The water wasn't exactly blue and not exactly green either but a strange sort of mixture of the two but very clear at the same time. He was only a few feet from the shoreline but he could see brightly colored fish swimming around in the shallow water just off the shore.

The sun was warm on his face, chest and arms but not scorching. All in all it was pretty perfect. Who knew that such beautiful places lurked in his subconscious?

But the dream wasn't totally different, not in all ways. When he raised his eyes to the top of the tall rocks on his right he saw a figure standing up there, looking out across the water beyond the cove and very resolutely _not_ looking at him.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered to himself.

All of the things to follow him from the last dream to this, he would never have expected it to be Sasuke. Wasn't he done with this little delve into his mental frame of mind with Sasuke, why the hell did his mind want to keep drawing him back to it? And why now of all times were they in a new setting if this dream was going to be just like the last ones? Did something happen in the last dream that was so different from the ones before? Well, yeah, he and Sasuke had had a relatively civil conversation for a change, but had that been the catalyst? And if that was all his mind wanted to do about Sasuke, why was Sasuke still in his dreams now?

He heaved a sigh and sat down in the warm sand by his feet and continued to stare up at the stubborn Uchiha. The wind was blowing the other man's hair back and whipping the black, no dark gray pants around his legs. Apparently it was a lot more breezy up there than down here but Sasuke didn't seem cold and gave no indication that he was going to come down from there anytime soon. Naruto thought about going up there and saying 'hi' but rejected the idea almost immediately. Sasuke may have been the one to come and talk to him last time, but if Naruto went up there after him he would probably just run away like he always did.

So Naruto continued to watch him until morning in the real world when he woke up.

* * *

><p>Sakura for once was speechless when he told her about this latest development. Apparently this change of scenery didn't fit into her master plan, especially when it seemed as though nothing was resolved from the forest.<p>

"Why a beach?" She asked for maybe the sixth time as the three of them walked up the path back to Konoha after delivering yet another message.

"I like beaches," Naruto offered.

"It's not enough that you simply like beaches," Sakura told him as though she suddenly knew more about him than he did. Seriously lately she seemed to think of herself as some sort of dream expert. But it was evidently really irritating her that she couldn't work this one out. "It must mean something."

Sai broke the ensuing silence. "At the moment Naruto is in a relatively peaceful place like this inlet. He is protected from outside dangers but he knows these dangers are lurking just outside of this protection. You said the water looked rough and the weather was very windy outside the inlet, right?"

The pair of them looked at Sai with open mouths for a while.

"Wow, Sai. Maybe you're getting better at interpreting this bullshit that Sakura is!" Naruto exclaimed with a big smile once the shock had worn off. Sakura didn't seem half as amused though. But she still seemed impressed.

"That's brilliant Sai. Good catch," she told him.

Sai continued. "Either that or you are scared of facing the outside world, I haven't decided."

Naruto frowned. "I take it back, you're way worse."

"The fact that you are still dreaming about Sasuke-kun leads credence to the possibility that you are obsessed with him too. The clothes you both wear or are not wearing, more to the point, is almost homoerotic."

"Sai!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You think _I_ have subconscious problems? You're the one always talking about dicks!" Naruto told him hotly.

"Not with other people," Sai explained. "You're the only one that I seem to need to have that type of conversation with."

"Shut up Sai."

* * *

><p>Naruto spent the beginning of that night's dream on his beach staring up at Sasuke. Sasuke had moved only once to sit down in the entire time. Whether it was because he knew Naruto was watching him or hadn't even noticed he was there or not, Naruto couldn't decide, but he still wouldn't turn around. Eventually Naruto got sick of trying to figure him out. It was his dream after all and Sasuke was only acting in the same way Naruto was expecting him to act. So not expecting Sasuke to come down from his perch any time before hell froze over, Naruto decided to explore his new surroundings just like he had in the forest.<p>

The rocks to each side of the inlet were pretty interesting. The rock platforms near to the water were dotted here and there with little pools filled with the odd little fish here and there. The fish were always brightly coloured and always different. He even saw a few starfish.

After having a look around on the rocks, careful to keep his distance from Sasuke, not wanting him to run off, he sort of ran out of places to explore. If he left the beach and went inland he came eventually to a tree barrier that cut him off from going any farther.

Oh well, there was only one last place to explore. He shrugged and dived off the rock he was standing on and into the water.

The water was beautiful and clear, it was so warm it was almost like diving into a bath. When he surfaced he looked down and he could see his feet moving, keeping him afloat. A few dark blue fish swam by further down near the bottom.

"Wow."

He heard a rock come loose from above and saw a few stones skidding down to plonk into the water a few feet away from him. Looking up he saw that Sasuke had come over to watch him in the water. He'd probably wondered where that splash had come from when Naruto had dived in. Sasuke was standing very close to the edge on an obviously unstable ledge, judging from the small rockslide.

"Careful," Naruto called up before he realized what he was doing. "You might fall."

"This is a dream dobe, I can't get hurt. Not really."

"Oh, yeah." Naruto realized. "Well you might not die, sure. But you might still be able to feel pain."

"Like I care."

Typical Sasuke response, he really should have known better. Even though he had expected it, even though it was just the way Sasuke always spoke to him, it still annoyed him somehow. Sakura was the one that had told him that Sasuke was only acting this way because this was a reflection of the real Sasuke Naruto's mind had conjured up for him. He couldn't expect this dream Sasuke to be any different than the real one because deep down he knew that Sasuke just wasn't any different than how he was acting now. Sure it was a realistic reflection, and that was nice in a way. But at the same time he was deeply annoyed that Sasuke couldn't even be nice to him in his dreams, realistic or not. His subconscious just seemed intent on making him suffer.

"Jump off then, if you don't care."

He couldn't see from here, but he knew the smirk must be there. "I don't need to prove anything to you."

"You don't need to, but you always seem to want to," Naruto muttered to himself.

Sasuke couldn't have heard him, but he seemed to know he'd missed something said about him.

He watched Naruto for a few moments longer with a blank face before turning and disappearing from Naruto's limited view.

Naruto didn't see him again for the rest of that night's dream.

Actually he didn't see him again the next night either. Naruto had dreamt of the same beach, the same fish but no Sasuke. When he still hadn't seen him after a while of exploring and swimming he went in search of him. But this location wasn't like the last and it was pretty limited area wise. There was really nowhere Sasuke could have gone where Naruto would not be able to find him.

Did this mean Sasuke would not be coming back in his dreams? That would be strange after all this time. It wasn't like he had resolved anything in his mind about the Sasuke, but why else would Sasuke just suddenly not be a part of it anymore. Was his mind just sick of him internally bitching about Sasuke's attitude and punishing him? Would Sasuke's absenteeism really be like a punishment anyway? Yes, he realized it would be a punishment.

Naruto had been almost irritated by his presence the entire time, but being irritated by Sasuke was still better than not seeing him. Even Sasuke just being Sasuke, cold, hateful and all was better than no Sasuke at all. He found himself missing him that night. Even if Sasuke hardly said anything to him most of the time, just seeing him there up on his rock and watching the turbulent waters outside their cove had a calming effect on him he hadn't realized he'd been feeling until it was suddenly gone. He couldn't enjoy his dream tonight no matter what he did to amuse himself. Every so often his eyes would be drawn back up to the empty rocks and he'd feel a little pang of loss at the sight.

Every time he looked up there expecting to see that familiar raven dark hair being tossed by the wind, the straight set of his shoulder, face serious and contemplative. But when he looked now there was just…nothing.

The very next night he thought he was going to spend alone again but after checking out the sandy bottom of the inlet he surfaced again to find Sasuke standing up on his usual perch, but watching him instead of the water outside.

"I thought you weren't coming back," Naruto called up to him.

Sasuke took a step back from the edge and Naruto thought he was going to disappear again but he didn't. He stepped forward quickly and dove off the edge of the rocks. Naruto gasped when his feet left the rocks and he found himself holding his breath throughout Sasuke's long dive down to the water. It was a graceful dive too, he held his arms out in front of him, his legs straight out behind him. He arced his body slightly and sliced into the water with barely a splash.

Naruto didn't breathe out again till he saw Sasuke resurface a few moments later.

"I thought you were gonna crack your head open on the bottom," Naruto admitted to him.

"Then why did you dare me to do it before?"

"You were pissing me off!"

Sasuke actually had the faintest traces of a smile touch his lips at that and Naruto noticed something for the first time since looking into his eyes in the forest. That crazy hate wasn't really there anymore. Maybe dream Sasuke had been doing a lot of thinking up there on the bluff the last few days and managed to clear his mind a little. He looked better, refreshed and way more like the old Sasuke. It made his heart ache to see Sasuke as he had been before his mind had gotten all twisted up by revenge. This was the Sasuke he wanted back.

Daringly, Naruto swam a little closer until they were only about five feet away from each other and stopped. Sasuke didn't try to move away.

"I thought you weren't coming back."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a little. "How did you even know I was gone?"

"Because I was here and you weren't," Naruto replied obviously.

"That's creepy," Sasuke said slowly.

"How is that creepy?" Naruto asked thoroughly confused.

"Whatever, it's not like it matters."

Naruto was about to ask him another question when he felt something brush against his bare side. It was so sudden and unexpected he couldn't help but yelp.

"What is wrong now?"

"Nothing," Naruto answered mildly embarrassed by his reaction. "Just a fish. They're really friendly. Especially the blue and yellow ones."

"What fish?"

Naruto realized that Sasuke had never paid much attention to the water here before being on such a high perch most of the time. The amount of coloured fish in the water should even impress him a little.

"Follow me," Naruto instructed.

He didn't wait for a reply but simply dove underneath the water toward the reeds at the bottom of the deepest section of water where most of the fish could be found. He turned when he got there and saw that Sasuke had indeed followed him and was watching him. He held up a hand for Sasuke to stay put, turned and swam through the reeds. Usually when he did this he upset the fish lurking in the reeds and they would all go swimming up and away from him. It should give Sasuke a good view of them all. When he emerged from the reeds he swam to the surface for a much needed breath of air. Sasuke surfaced a moment later.

"Well?"

"Pretty nice." Sasuke told him in a voice that didn't really convey any wonder. But his eyes did look pretty bright telling Naruto that he was more amazed than he was willing to let on.

* * *

><p>Over the next few nights Naruto took the opportunity to show him around the little inlet, climbing onto the rocks and looking at the pools and the little worlds contained within them. They swam down to the bottom of the inlet where Naruto collected a few brightly coloured shells to show Sasuke when they surfaced.<p>

Sasuke followed him around, looked at everything Naruto showed him. He seemed mildly interested but not really amazed by most of it. But then, Naruto didn't really expect him to be. It wasn't until Naruto took him back down into the reeds to give Sasuke an opportunity to send the fish scattering himself that he got any idea that Sasuke was finding any of this in the least bit enjoyable.

On the first pass through the reeds, he managed to lose Sasuke somewhere amongst the swaying green leaves. He kept swimming trying to find him again. But Sasuke found him first. He practically ran into Naruto, grabbing his waist and because he was going faster out of the two, sent them both tumbling through the reeds. Thinking Sasuke had decided to attack him after all, Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's chest ready to push him away when he caught sight of Sasuke's face. He was actually smiling at him. He stilled his hand on Sasuke's chest, palm flat and watched the amazing sight of Sasuke smiling. He felt Sasuke's hands slide down a little until both hands rested on his hips and wondered at the touch. Well he wondered until he realized that if he didn't surface soon he was going to drown himself. And yeah, this was just a dream and he probably couldn't drown, but his lungs still screamed for air and it was enough to compel him to resurface.

Sasuke's smile slid a little as he realized Naruto's problem and still with his hands gripping his sides, he boosted Naruto up toward the surface.

Naruto sucked in a breath when his head hit the surface and Sasuke did the same a few seconds later.

"Having fun trying to drown me?" Naruto asked him even though he wasn't in any way upset by being grabbed.

"I am actually," Sasuke wasn't smiling anymore but then he gave him that smirk. "By the way, I've been meaning to tell you this but thin light coloured pants are probably not the best thing to wear swimming."

It took Naruto a few moments to catch on, but when he did he couldn't stop his face going a little red.

"Well it's not like I have a lot of clothing options! Why the hell were you looking anyway?"

Naruto expected some sort of smart-ass reply or even a cutting insult, but Sasuke didn't do as expected. He just frowned at him and said, "Why not?"

Naruto couldn't really come up with a good argument against that. There was no reason to think Sasuke had been ogling him or anything. If the pants were really that see-thru it would be hard not to notice he supposed, no matter who it was. But he couldn't quite shake Sai's impression of the clothing option from his head and it annoyed him.

"Because I'm a guy?" Naruto offered lamely.

"What does that have to do with anything? This is a dream right, and if you aren't going to waste all your time trying to lure me back to the village or remind me how we were friends once what are you doing here with me? Is this whole thing about showing me frogs in flowers and fish in reeds cause that seems like a big waste of mental energy to me."

That was a good point. So what? Was dream Sasuke trying to tell him that maybe Sai had been right and this was trying to show him a different side of his obsession with a certain Uchiha and what that really meant? That couldn't be it. If that was true then he imagined his dream Sasuke would have been a lot nicer to him. And besides, he liked Sakura and she was most definitely a girl.

"I like girls," Naruto told him.

"So? You think the two are mutually exclusive? Besides, who said this had anything to do with you?"

That threw him for a moment. "Well I know that you don't have a thing for me."

"Really, how?"

"Because you're an asshole to me!"

A small smile ticked the corner of Sasuke's mouth. "Oh, that's cute," he said mockingly. "You think that just because I have some underlying feelings for you that you should get special treatment."

"Well, if that was the case then, yes!"

"You do, you know."

"The way you act towards me is special treatment? How do you figure?"

"You aren't dead yet are you? Who else gets to me like you do? I try to ignore you, but you are _so_ persistent. Despite what you think I can never seem to get away from you, you always find me and you're always trying to tell me that I'm so important to you and we share some great bond. And that annoys me, but at least I don't deny why it annoys me. It's the reason why you so persistently chase me and why you and no one else thinks that I am worth anything more to them than my talent and my clan."

"It's because I'm your friend," Naruto said stupidly.

"Whatever dobe, as if you could even tell me the real truth. This is a dream, nothing is real here."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I can watch you in your see through pants all I want and it will have no ramifications in the real world."

What was Sasuke saying? That because this was a dream he could do whatever he wanted and it didn't matter because this wasn't real anyway? Well he had a point, he supposed. But that didn't mean he would do anything he could just because it wasn't real. Sasuke wasn't real here, but Naruto would still remember.

"Is that what you've been doing this entire time up on that rock, thinking about ramifications and the meaning of dreams?"

"Yes, actually. I ran from you in the forest because I was looking for a way out and I did not want to deal with your dogged persistence for me to be someone I am not anymore. But you stopped chasing me and started ignoring me and I figured that's not what you were here for. So if not that, then what? Is it possible that I could relax around you now? Was it a chance for me to be here with you without having to consider real life implications anymore or how admitting things to myself might make me vulnerable to you?"

"That's some pretty in depth thinking for a dream," Naruto said after letting that sink in. "Are you trying to tell me that all you want is a friend at the moment that wont judge you or try to persuade you to do something for a change?"

"That's part of it. But I think we both know that that friend just couldn't be anyone. The last person left in the world that still thinks I'm worth being friends with. It had to be you."

"Why?"

"If you don't get that by now, you're never going to."

* * *

><p>For the first time since this had all began, Naruto didn't share every part of his dream with his teammates the next day. He told them about part of their conversation about the possibility that all Sasuke really wanted was a friend right now, but he steered clear of most of the other stuff lest Sakura, but mostly Sai, get the wrong impression about it all.<p>

Sakura was quiet for a long time after he told her and when she did speak it was with a little sadness. "You know, you're mind could just be preparing you for the worst. Maybe these dreams are about saying goodbye to Sasuke. I think now that you have set yourself up to fight him maybe you're just giving yourself an outlet to set things right before saying your goodbyes."

"You think I've resigned myself and him to die?" Naruto asked soberly.

"In a way, yes. Even if you both don't die, maybe you know deep down that things can't end well for him now. Maybe you just wanted a chance to be friends again before the end."

"That's pretty morbid."

"But reasonable," Sakura gave him a sad smile. "You never know, this might be a chance to make peace with him, a chance that you might never get in real life."

"But it's not real. It doesn't count."

"It counts, Naruto. To you at least it will."

* * *

><p>He was already sitting on the sand and looking out at the churning water outside the inlet when Sasuke came and sat beside him. He sat so close that their arms momentarily brushed while he was getting himself comfortable. Naruto didn't look at him at first.<p>

"I want to be your friend again. I don't want to think about the real world for a while."

"It seems I'm not the only one who's done some thinking," Sasuke observed. "Did it hurt your fragile brain?"

"Teme! I'm being serious here. If one or both of us are going to die I want a chance clear the air between us."

"Is this the part where you tell me that you really love me and that's why you've been stalking me all these years?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

"I haven't been stalking you! Believe it or not, sometimes there are more important things at stake than running after you. Why do you have to be so difficult here?" Naruto asked finally looking at him. "You said so yourself, this isn't real life so you don't need to act all cool towards me. You said you don't hate me, so what gives?"

"I never said I didn't hate you. I do hate you because of what you do to me. You make me second-guess myself just when I think I have everything worked out. That eager optimism and misplaced trust you have in me drives me nuts."

"Really, cause I think you're doing fine on that score without me."

"You get to me, and that makes you a bit extraordinary to me for reasons I can't fathom."

"You don't want me to have faith in you?"

"Why should you when no one else does. What else do I have to do that would make you think I'm no longer worth saving?"

"Nothing I think you're actually capable of."

"There you go again! Where is this trust coming from?"

Naruto shrugged. "You and I were team mates. Sure, maybe rivals is a better word than friends, but I knew I could count on you. You risked yourself for me a lot even when I was being an idiot and not thinking things through. You were the first one that acknowledged me as something more than just a screw up and a demon vessel when no one else did. How can you be surprised when I see more in you than other people do as well?"

"Because that would mean you felt some kind of affection for me."

"Of course I do. I do love you. You are my best friend, even if you don't act like it."

"I suppose I must too," Sasuke responded after a moment, surprising Naruto greatly with the admission. "Like I said before, why would I let you get to me if you meant nothing to me."

"Because I'm loud and aggressive about what I want and it's real hard to ignore?" Naruto joked.

"There is that."

Naruto grinned and bumped shoulders with him. "You weren't supposed to agree."

Sasuke looked at him but he wasn't smiling. He just leaned in and before Naruto could register what was happening he was being kissed. The shock of it woke him up and he found himself lying in bed staring up at his ceiling, very awake. He swore he could still feel those cool lips on his as though it had really happened.

He sat up slowly and tried to calm his breathing. "What he hell was that about?"

Well, he sure wasn't going to tell Sai about that one.

TBC.

* * *

><p><em>Ah, finally I hear you all gasp. Well we all knew it was going to happen and I thought it might be novel for me to build up the feelings before we got to the kissing parts. But hopefully it was worth the effort to get this far. Please review.<em>

_Dash._


	3. Dreams About Fires in Caves

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 3**

**Dreams about Fires in Caves**

The very next night of dreaming gave Naruto a greater insight into what was happening with these dreams of his. When he slept he didn't find himself on his beach in the cove, he wasn't even in his forest, he was in a new place entirely, and for once he didn't appreciate the scenery one little bit.

He stood in a small open area and looked out over a sheer drop. He could see mountains ranging around him and everything was covered in snow. At his back was a cave entrance that looked black and uninviting, though a little more inviting than continuing to stand out here in the chill wind that buffeted him where he stood, making him have to hug his arms around himself and shiver.

Why was he even cold in his dream? Come to think of it, he experienced a lot in these latest dreams of his that he didn't think he'd ever dreamt of before. Feeling wind against his skin, feeling heat and cold, being able to smell things, and feel the water as he swam. He didn't think these were typical things to experience when you dreamt, but hey, what did he know? Most of the time he couldn't remember his dreams after he woke, but these ones stayed with him like normal memories so that's probably all there was to it.

No the real insight he was beginning to have about these dreams was that they must have more to do with Sasuke than he had originally thought. Sure, the locations might have great metaphorical bearing on what was going on in his life that had little or nothing to do with the Uchiha, but the fact that his dreams seemed to change every time he gained some new level of understanding with Sasuke had become painfully obvious after their last brief encounter on the beach.

The first time in the forest they had had their first relatively civil conversation with each other in years. After that, he started dreaming about the beach. And then on the beach Sasuke had…Sasuke had…

Naruto screwed up his eyes and _made _himself say it.

"He kissed me."

And the following night he had ended up here.

This new place was beyond a doubt the least inviting place of the three and he wondered if his mind was punishing him in some way for the latest instalment in the twisted Naruto-Sasuke soap opera that was his sleeping life these days. It was like kicking him and saying, 'Bad Naruto! What the hell were you thinking?' But that was just it, he hadn't been thinking, Sasuke had been the one to kiss him! Of course, this was obviously his dream so didn't that mean there was some small part of Naruto that had wanted Sasuke to…

Naruto shook his head to clear it.

"What's wrong, dobe? Are you even losing mental sparring matches to yourself now?"

Naruto turned to look at the current focus of his issues and frowned at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"I always call you a dobe."

"I don't mean that!" Naruto returned hotly. "You kissed me."

Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and smirked at him. "The beauty of the dream is that I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you."

"C'mon Teme, this whole dream is about messing with me. Why won't you explain why? If nothing else, you could use this as an excuse just to fuck with me even more."

Sasuke seemed on the verge of saying some other nasty thing, but seemed to think better of it. Apparently he thought Naruto had a good point. Why just call Naruto names when he had a chance at doing some real mental torture instead?

"I'm trying to figure something out," he said simply.

"How?" Naruto asked after Sasuke's ridiculous answer. "By sticking your tongue down my throat?"

"By any means necessary."

"Why can't I ever get a simple answer from you!" Naruto snapped out of patience with Sasuke's vague and incomprehensible answers.

"You invited me to fuck with your mind, you can't complain when I grant you your wish."

Naruto glared at him for a while longer, but it was hard to stay angry when he was shivering so much he bit his own tongue.

"Ow!"

"Cold?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Thanks Uchiha Obvious," Naruto returned in a similar tone. "What is up with this place anyway, what happened to the beach?"

Sasuke rubbed his own arms in a show that the cold was affecting him too and shrugged. "Hn."

"I'm going in the cave," Naruto said decisively. But he didn't move forward. The cave looked very dark.

Sasuke watched him impassively for a few minutes. "Well?"

"Aren't you coming?"

"I might if you actually went anywhere." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You aren't scared are you?"

"No!" Naruto shot back immediately. Then in a quieter tone he said, "I wonder if anything lives in there."

"Look around, dobe. Does it look like anything lives anywhere in this bleak place? And besides, this is a dream remember, what have _you_ got to be scared about?"

"You obviously don't know what my dreams can be like," Naruto muttered. But it was true, generally he didn't dream about big nasty animals taking him apart. Mostly his nastier dreams included seeing people die, seeing things destroyed or worse. Though of course if you included his brief talks with the Kyuubi to be a kind of dream, he supposed that there were some big nasty animals that did try to harm him…he really wished he hadn't just thought about that.

Sasuke continued to watch him for a while longer before getting apparently fed up and walking toward the cave himself. As creepy as it looked to Naruto though, he couldn't let Sasuke walk in there by himself. He caught up to the Uchiha just inside the cave entrance by actually running into the back of him when the other ninja had stopped to take a look around. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder to stop them from both ending up on the ground and looked past him at their new surroundings. There wasn't much to see unfortunately. Whatever light there was outside didn't filter into the cave very far. All Naruto could see what that it was probably a pretty small area about the size of the main room in his apartment but he couldn't even be certain about that. But of course, Sasuke had better eyes than he did.

"There's the remnants of a campfire and some leftover wood for burning," Sasuke told him. "Let go."

The last command took a while to find its way into Naruto's understanding and when it did, he took his hand away like he'd been burned. But then he realized the ridiculousness of it. Sure in the past Sasuke had always been a bit precious about his personal space, but only last night he'd been grabbing him and kissing him. So why all of a sudden was he so moody about it now?

Naruto watched Sasuke walk into the darkness. There was something about seeing him disappear one step at a time further into the cave that made Naruto's breath catch in his throat. He wanted desperately to call him back but instead he said,

"You know for someone that was tongue molesting me last night, you're awfully sensitive about a light touch on your shoulder."

There was a flare of light as Sasuke lit the wood in the firepit and Naruto got a good look at Sasuke crouched down staring up at him. The look was pretty cold.

"Some habits are harder to break than others. I don't like being grabbed."

"But it's okay for you to grab me whenever you feel like it."

"Yes."

The straightforward answer took him a little by surprise. He had expected Sasuke to say something else strange and not really answer him at all. At least that would give him something to argue with. The flat out acknowledgement kind of left him with nowhere to go.

"Oh."

Naruto took another look around this time with the aid of the campfire light and was even more dejected by what he saw. Sasuke had called this place bleak before and Naruto couldn't think of a better word to use. It _was_ bleak. His new dream gave him nothing to explore, nothing new to do and covered an even smaller space than the last one. Not to mention it was freezing. Of course the smaller space also meant that this time Sasuke couldn't run away from him either. And unless one of them chose to brave the outside again they would be forced to stay within close proximity to each other.

He looked at Sasuke sitting close to the fire, watching the flames leap with an impassive look on his face. He didn't look any different from the last dream, he still looked vaguely troubled, but not as crazy as the forest dream, and he still wore the simple pants and nothing else. But this time the pants were plain grey.

Naruto looked down at himself to realise he was wearing the exact same thing, colour and all. There was probably something deep and meaningful about that but he was too cold to think about it.

He crossed over to the fire and sat down on the opposite side to Sasuke and watched his old friend over the flames.

"What?" Sasuke asked coldly after a few moments of being stared at.

"This sucks."

"Hn."

"I suppose I could always stop the dream. At least for tonight."

Sasuke looked at him sharply. "What?"

Naruto was a little taken back by that look. He hadn't thought he'd said anything strange. "Well, you know. Something happens in your dream that shocks you, you wake up right? That would stop the dream. Like falling. I always wake up from dreams when I fall."

Sasuke seemed to calm down a little after the explanation. "Like jumping off the cliff outside you mean."

"Right. But then again, these dreams are a bit weird right? Who is to say it'd work. It might just be really painful."

Sasuke didn't reply so Naruto started of thinking of less potentially harmful ways of being shocked awake. Most of the time he'd just wake up from the dream when morning came in the real world. But the few times he'd been shocked awake had been either when he was falling or when Sasuke…Okay, not going there.

But did he really want to spend so long in such a place? On normal nights the amount of time he dreamt for felt like hours and he was already so cold and so bored right now that the prospect of spending so long with nothing to do except shiver and talk to an unresponsive and sometimes nasty fake Sasuke wasn't a terribly appealing one.

It was just a little kiss right? It wasn't like he had been so grossed out by the last one, it had just surprised him before. Okay, it had disturbed him a little too, but that was mainly due to his own thoughts than the actual deed. The fact that it hadn't actually grossed him out terribly, and that if he kept with the theory that this was _his_ subconscious, it would be easy to say that maybe he wanted the kiss. Those had been the thoughts that had disturbed him. But if doing it again meant he could change their environment or at the very least wake up for the time being, he thought it might just be worth it.

He moved until he was sitting next to Sasuke who watched him move with nothing but a raised eyebrow. He felt his cheeks burn a little at the thought of what he was about to suggest. But wasn't it just like Sasuke said, this was just a dream, it had no real consequences in the real world. So no matter how he acted in his dreams, he could be content with the knowledge that dreams aren't real.

But no matter how true that all was, he just couldn't do anything about it. So they sat silently for a while and stared into the fire. Occasionally Sasuke would look at him as though a silent Naruto was a little disturbing, but Naruto was still working himself up to what he was thinking of doing. Eventually it was Sasuke who cracked before he did.

"Talk, say something!"

Naruto looked at him in surprise and even Sasuke seemed to realize how strange it was for him to say that to Naruto.

"I find your silence very disturbing. I'd rather you be yourself." Sasuke explained.

Well maybe talking about it would help his resolve. "I was just thinking of a way to end the dream without pain."

"Tell me then, I'd rather end it too."

Naruto took a deep breath. Well it was now or never. No consequences right?

"Kiss me."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to look surprised. "What?"

"Look I know, alright. But it worked last time didn't it? The dream stopped."

Sasuke watched him for a moment, but Naruto still couldn't bring himself to look into the other's eyes. Trying like hell not to look at Sasuke's face, he found himself staring at the soft looking pale skin of his neck. He wondered briefly if the skin felt as smooth as it looked. When he realised what he was doing he looked down at the floor between them.

He felt his chin lifted by a single finger to finally look up at Sasuke. Naruto couldn't read the expression there but Sasuke had leaned in and it looked as though he was going to accept the request. So Naruto closed his eyes and waited.

He heard Sasuke make a sort of amused 'hn' sound and then he felt those cool lips again, just like last night. And just like last night he opened his mouth a little to feel a tongue snake inside and twine around with his. After a few moments, Sasuke pulled away and Naruto opened his eyes to see those familiar dark eyes regarding him a little curiously. It took him a moment more to realize the most important fact of what had just happened though.

"We're still here."

"I noticed that. So much for your master plan."

Naruto tried to think it over logically, but he could still feel those lips like he was still being kissed and it was a little distracting to say the least.

"Maybe because it was expected this time. It wasn't a spur of the moment surprise, it was planned."

Sasuke smirked at him. "So what? Even if it happened that way again it probably wouldn't work. By the look on your face it was less shock and more enjoyment this time anyway."

"What look? I don't have a look!"

Sasuke huffed at him and looked away. "Whatever, dobe."

"What? You think I wanted you to do that again?"

"The first time took me as much by surprise as you. Not even I knew I was going to do that until I did. You're right, it was a shock that stopped the dream. I'm surprised you thought it would work again though."

"So why did you do it then, if you knew it wouldn't work?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Why not? Maybe I was bored."

"You're such an asshole!" Naruto exclaimed getting to his feet. "I think I will go throw myself off that cliff after all!"

But Sasuke grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down beside him. "Don't be stupid."

Naruto was still pretty angry though. He glared at the fire. "So what? Do we sit here until we have another bonding breakthrough and get to go somewhere nicer?"

"Probably."

"Great!" Naruto replied sarcastically. "'Cause the last thing I want to do right now is talk to you."

"Really? Aren't you the one chasing me all over the country trying to bring me back to the village? I would have thought you'd like this, us both being trapped here."

"Not like this! This isn't real. Why would I want to waste my breath trying to convince you here if it doesn't matter what I say?"

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>"A new place? But you only started dreaming about the beach like a week ago!" Sakura exclaimed.<p>

They had stopped to eat at a tea house along the way. Naruto was feeling a little under the weather and pretty tired besides. Sakura had commented about how bad he looked twice before he'd agreed to take a break and have something to eat.

"You aren't still having these dreams every night are you?" Sakura asked eyeing him picking at his food.

"No I told you, it's not every night," he lied. He didn't like lying to her, but lately she had gotten this look in her eye suggesting that at any moment she might force a sleeping potion down his throat so he could have a dreamless sleep for a change.

The idea was tempting, especially after last night's epic boredom punctuated with the brief but heated arguments he'd had with Sasuke. But there had to be some point to all of this, he'd decided that morning. If these dreams really were his subconscious trying to tell him something, he was eager to find out what it was now more than ever.

"So what's this new place like?" Sakura asked sipping her tea, apparently buying his lie.

"Boring," he admitted. "It's just a ledge and a cave and nothing else."

"Hmmm," she murmered thoughtfully no doubt trying to find the metaphor behind it.

"Isolation," Sai supplied quietly. "You are now cut off from everything and every one. Did something happen in the last area that might give you a possible future like this?"

"You're thinking the dream is showing him his past, present and future, don't you?" Sakura asked Sai.

"Just a thought."

"Well, what did happen at the end of the last dream on the beach?" Sakura asked Naruto eagerly.

Well, Sasuke had kissed him, that's what. But he wasn't about to tell them that. If he took on board Sai's view of the situation, he supposed gaining a stronger bond with Sasuke could result in him being an outcast again. But something about that explanation didn't sit right with him for a lot of reasons.

"Nothing much," Naruto shrugged. "Me and Sasuke talked more about being friends. I suppose we got to some sort of understanding." Before he went and kissed me, that is. But he made sure to keep that last part to himself.

"Is Sasuke still there in this new dream?" Sai asked him.

"Yeah, he's still there," Naruto answered carefully.

"Well maybe this is just the next step," Sakura told him with a smile. "You're friends again in the dream and now the dream has shifted and put you in a place where you have no alterative but to talk to one another. I say it's all about solidifying that bond. There are no distractions now, you might finally have a chance to say…what you need to say."

He knew she had been about to say, 'goodbye' especially when her smile had slipped a little there at the end. And he thought what she said had merit to it. It was true, they were in a place where there was nothing to do but talk and neither of them could escape the other's company too easily. But Sai's interpretation of 'isolation' did stick in his head all through the day.

* * *

><p>With the thought in mind that there was nothing to do now but talk to each other in the dream, Naruto went to sleep that night with the objective of doing just that. To say Sasuke was a little unresponsive would have been a huge understatement.<p>

He was okay at first, but soon became irritated by being asked multiple questions all the time and snapped at Naruto more than once. Eventually he threatened to hold Naruto's head in the fire if he didn't shut up.

"You were the one that told me to be more myself and not be so silent," Naruto pointed out.

"Yes, be yourself. Talk about whatever you want, but stop asking so many questions!"

So Naruto did. Instead he started talking about the village. He thought maybe it wasn't the best topic considering Sasuke was obviously already pissed off. But because he made no effort to try and get Sasuke to join in on the conversation, it didn't seem to bother him. After a while he actually joined in of his own volition.

"The whole village is still being rebuilt after Pain destroyed it," Naruto told him. "It's hard work, but everyone is pitching in. Even Inari showed up, you remember him from the Land of Waves. He's a carpenter now and he's like double the height he was four years ago. It's amazing to realize how much time has passed since we went to help Inari and his grandfather. He asked about you, he wanted to say hi and gives you his thanks again for the help."

Sasuke didn't comment on that but Naruto could tell he had his full attention.

"I said we'd had a fight and you'd left for a while, which I suppose is the truth in a way even if that's not the reason you left." Naruto looked over at the fire, not wanting to look at Sasuke for the moment because he was sure Sasuke was about to get angry at him. "I wish that's all it was though. I wish you had left because of me. It's a lot easier to say that I was sorry and get you to forgive me than to convince you to forgive the people you're really angry at. For what it's worth though, I am sorry."

"I don't need your pity," Sasuke told him bluntly.

"It's not pity," Naruto assured him. "It's…understanding. I'm not just sorry for you, I'm sorry about a lot of things and I feel sorry for a lot of people. The people of Konoha lost everything, and I feel sorry for that. So many people have lost their lives. Ero-Sennin…" Naruto let his voice die for a moment, unable to continue with that particular thought. "The point is that there's a lot of sorrow to go around and somebody should feel it for those that can't anymore. That's why I said I was sorry to you. Not because I think anything you did or went through was my fault, but because I don't know if you are capable anymore of feeling sorry for yourself."

Sasuke didn't answer him and the silence dragged on. Eventually Naruto felt it was time to break the uncomfortable silence and looked up at Sasuke, his words dying in his throat at the expression presented there. He'd expected Sasuke to seem annoyed or angry by his morose little outpouring, but Sasuke looked openly curious and Naruto could have been imagining it, just a tad hopeful. Sasuke spoke before Naruto had a chance to rearrange his thoughts.

"I wonder sometimes what it would be like if I had stayed. Would we still be friends? Would you care as much about me?"

"Of course I would!"

"I don't think that's true. I think your obsession to find me and bring me home clouds your real opinion of me. I think you're more obsessed with your mission than the object of the mission."

"Do I have to explain this to you again? I told you why before on the beach."

"But is that true, or is that just something you tell yourself to keep yourself going?"

"Of course it is true! I'm not lying, least of all to myself. I know how I feel. I just wish I knew more about how you felt."

"Me too."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

But Sasuke wouldn't elaborate, at least not this time. For now though, it was a start.

* * *

><p><em>Notes: I know a lot didn't seem to happen this chapter but that's because this chapter was far larger and I decided to split it into two when it started to get too big. The bad news about that is of course you get the boring first half of the chapter here but the good news is that you get more story because of it because I won't be limiting the chapter so much and chapter 4 should be done quicker than usual seeing as that one is almost finished as well. But please let me know if you like where this is going and I will have more for you soon.<em>

_Dash._


	4. Dreams About Solace in Isolation

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 4**

**Dreams about Solace in Isolation**

Naruto had gotten up later than usual that morning and he was still feeling like he could go back to sleep. But ever the dutiful shinobi he got up, got dressed, and went out on mission with Sakura and Sai.

Using the least amount of chakra possible he got through the day and came home. He started eating dinner but stopped halfway through when his eyes started going out of focus and called it a night.

* * *

><p>"…and Sai just sits down next to me like it's the most natural thing in the world, waaay too close for comfort. Then when I'm about to move over he puts his arm around me! So I glare at him so he gets the message that this just isn't cool, and he turns to me with this weird look in his eye. So I freak out of course and scream at him that I…"<p>

But Naruto had stopped talking when he heard the oddest sound. Sasuke was laughing next to him. And not a chuckle, it was full blown laughing till your eyes tear up and Naruto thought it was just about the best sound he'd ever heard when he got over his initial shock of hearing and seeing it happen.

"It's not that funny, teme," Naruto put in though as the minutes dragged on.

"You dobe." Sasuke managed after a few moments. "From what you've told me, incessantly, this Sai tends to get a lot of his social guidance out of books. You know it was probably a misunderstanding right?"

"Yeah, that occurred to me later," Naruto admitted not happy that Sasuke had thought of that right away. "But it was creeping me out at the time, you had to be there. If you'd been in my place you'd have flipped worse than I did if someone did that to you."

Sasuke smirked at him. "Depends on who it was."

"Uh huh, sure," Naruto said unbelievingly. To demonstrate, Naruto scooted closer to him and reenacted the scene for Sasuke's benefit by throwing his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, but Sasuke wasn't glaring at him like Naruto had been at the time. Actually when he turned his face trying to match Sai's 'weird' look Sasuke quickly leant in and kissed him, just like that. It was a quick kiss though, their lips had barely touched this time and Naruto didn't know whether to feel annoyed at the briefness or because Sasuke had messed up his demonstration.

"That's not what happened. I was gonna look at you like I was gonna kiss you so you could see why I freaked."

"So? I told you it depended on who did it. If you'd done that to me, that's what I would have done."

They looked at one another for a moment before Naruto realized he still had his arm around Sasuke and quickly snatched it back.

"Yeah, but you probably would have done it just to freak me out first. Well no, actually if I'd done something like that when we were younger you would have ranted at me way more than I did at Sai."

Sasuke shrugged at looked away. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"Well things change as you grow up."

He just wished Sasuke had looked a little happier when he'd said that.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up, and yawned hugely. He had a quick shower, skipped breakfast and went to meet his teammates.<p>

Luckily, it had been a short day and they were back in the village by noon for once. Naruto ate a little and might have stayed awake for the rest of the day, but for once it wasn't tiredness that made him go to bed in the middle of the day. Sure, he was really sleepy as well, but he had nothing important to do and having Sasuke to talk to was a more pleasant idea than sitting awake and being bored.

He also knew that if he went to sleep the headaches would go away which was an ever-increasing bonus recently.

* * *

><p>"I know there's something wrong with me."<p>

Naruto had been chatting about how the fire in the cave never seemed to go out, just inane banter to help pass the time. He had given up trying to include Sasuke in his conversations because Sasuke generally either didn't want to talk or just joined in whenever the mood took him. It wasn't real often though, and he seemed to spend most of his time either watching the fire or watching Naruto talk with this thoughtful expression on his face. They'd been sitting by the fire facing one another more or less when Sasuke had interrupted his nonsense speech.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked looking at him.

Sasuke was looking down at his hands, flexing his fingers and turning his hands over. This was the first movement he'd really made in quite a few nights. Obviously this had been what he'd been so deeply thinking about while Naruto chatted to him.

"I…it's like a compulsion. I feel like if I don't get my revenge I'll go mad."

"No offense Sasuke, but last time I saw you, you looked more than halfway there anyway."

He hadn't meant to sound so callous, he'd just done what he always did in uncomfortable situations and tried to lighten the mood by joking. But he regretted it as soon as he'd said it. Luckily Sasuke didn't really seem to be listening to him anyway.

"All I can do to stop thinking is to act. If I stop I'll…"

Moving his hands around like that was driving Naruto a little crazy himself. He grabbed both of Sasuke's hands in his and held them tightly to stop Sasuke's movements. This made Sasuke look up at him. But he didn't snatch his hands back like Naruto expected he might. In fact he looked a little lost now that he couldn't keep staring at them.

"You _can_ stop. I can help you if you do."

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say because Sasuke seemed to come back to himself and did wrench his hands away.

"Yeah, right," Sasuke said coldly.

"I can!" Naruto pleaded. "I keep telling you that you're my friend. I'd do anything for you."

"Stop it, stop saying things like that!" Sasuke snapped getting to his feet.

"Why?" Naruto asked bewildered, looking up at him. "How can anyone not want to know that there's someone that cares about them?"

"Because it confuses me, and it confuses my objectives! I think about you and what you're trying to do for me and I…you just can't care that much. I wish you'd just forget about me and leave me alone!"

"I can't." Naruto said obviously.

"Why? As if you even know the real me enough to like me!"

"I know you better than you think I do. I understand now what it's like to lose someone and want to take revenge for them. I know what you're going through now and I want to help you because that's what saved me. I had people to care about me, love me and look after me and I didn't let that want for revenge consume me or change me because of it. I know I can do the same for you. I can save you!"

"Care about you and love you huh? And this is the magic elixir that will make the hate go away?" Sasuke asked derisively.

"In time it will help. I promise you."

"You don't love me, Naruto."

"I do," Naruto said standing up now as well while Sasuke paced. "I told you I loved you. You're my best friend."

"You don't love me like I think you do. Not really. You just make me think you do by trying so hard to save me. It's bullshit though, I'm not stupid."

Well that made no sense to him. Sasuke's little crazy moments might not have resurfaced much since the dreams in the forest, but every now and then he had a little rant like this just as a painful reminder for Naruto about his real counterpart's current mental state. Each time he caught a glimpse of it, it was like being stabbed in the heart with a thin cold needle.

Although this time there was an edge of desperation to Sasuke's voice that made him think this wasn't a regular rant. It was only slight, but it was there all the same. This time the rant seemed to be more Sasuke trying to persuade himself about something he really just didn't want to believe. He seemed to be trying to tell himself that Naruto didn't really care about him properly even though he really wanted it to be true.

Naruto stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke's arm in order to stop him pacing so he could reassure him. But Sasuke evidently didn't want to be touched because while he did stop, when he turned he drove his fist straight into Naruto's face.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke with a start in his bed. After he checked his clock to see it was four am he groaned and rolled over.<p>

Well if nothing else he'd discovered a new way to get booted out of his dream.

The next day he turned the conversation he'd had with dream Sasuke over and over in his head trying to make sense of the words while he waited for Sakura and Sai by the main gates. He was still tired, but this morning he'd been unable to get back to sleep after being woken from his dream.

Sai was the first to show up and the two stood side-by-side and waited for Sakura while Naruto thought it over some more. Eventually he decided he might as well ask someone else's opinion. So after some careful editing Naruto told Sai the sentence in the rant he was having the most issue with.

"What do you think it means if someone said to you: 'You don't care about me like I think you do.'"

The good thing about talking to Sai sometimes was that he didn't ask unnecessary questions like where it had come from or who'd said it. Either he didn't have the imagination for normal curiosity, or he just didn't really care. Either way, it was better than asking Sakura.

"That doesn't sound right," Sai told him.

"Yeah, I know right?"

"It would make more sense if it was: 'You don't care about me like I _hope_ you do.'"

"But that wasn't how it was said," Naruto protested.

"But it makes more sense that way," Sai replied thoughtfully. "That would make me think that whoever said it is lamenting the fact that you do not care about them in the way they hoped you would. That although you obviously do care, it is not in the right way or it is not enough for that person."

"Well, nice interpretation, but it still isn't how it was said," Naruto muttered when it seemed Sai was insistent about screwing up the wording and wouldn't give him any other insight.

"Perhaps it is what the person wanted to say without actually saying it." Sai suggested. "Sometimes it is better to be vague than to show your true feelings when you believe they will not be reciprocated."

Naruto was surprised. Sai was normally about as socially aware as a lettuce most of the time. Then he noticed the book clasped tightly in one of Sai's hands. '_Reading Between the Lines, Understanding the Truth Behind the Words.' _

Ah.

Well wherever it had come from _t__hat_ had gotten Naruto thinking.

In fact, it got him thinking throughout the entire mission that day as to what it might mean if Sai had been right. He knew he was being more silent than usual, and he knew Sakura was worrying that something was wrong with him, but he forced a few laughs and a few bits of light conversation enough to keep her happy while he dwelled on the larger issue at hand internally.

When he got home that night he was very tired. Mentally and physically. But instead of going to sleep right away he made himself eat something even though he wasn't really hungry hoping it would wake him up some more.

So if Sasuke was really saying that Naruto didn't love him in the way he deep down really wanted him to, what did that mean? How many times did he have to tell Sasuke that he was his best…friend…

Naruto frowned at his cup ramen in the middle of eating it.

"No way. That can't be it."

But when it came down to it, what was more than a friend? Family maybe. But family didn't tend to open mouth kiss you. Well, not if they were any kind of regular family anyway.

Even to Naruto the hypothesis sounded pretty far out there. This was Sasuke right, Sasuke was…Sasuke.

_He's not a bad kisser actually. Not that I have a wealth of experience in that department…_

Naruto shook his head roughly to clear _that_ intruding thought. But then reluctantly he looked at it again. It was true, kissing Sasuke wasn't the gross out moment he'd have thought it would have been. He could still remember the feel of his lips, the way he'd gone on feeling it long afterwards, and how he'd been disturbed that he hadn't been disturbed about it at all.

Getting Sasuke back had been his all consuming mission for the past three years and he had thought it had everything to do with needing to save his friend, keep his promise to Sakura and all that. But the amount of thought he devoted to it, the amount of training he'd undergone to get this far was probably more than either of those reasons could reasonably justify. Was he really more obsessed with Sasuke than just simple friendship could explain away?

Well, he supposed there was one good way to find out. Even better because real life consequences of such thoughts and actions wouldn't have to be considered.

_Right Sasuke?_

* * *

><p>Sasuke was already in the cave when Naruto arrived. He was sitting with his back up against the wall closest to the fire. Close enough to feel a little warmth but far enough away that he had to be at least a little cold.<p>

Naruto went over to him and crouched down in front of him ready to either prove to himself and dream Sasuke that he cared as much as Sasuke hoped or get the shit beaten out of him for trying.

"What?" Sasuke asked coldly. Apparently he was still a little raw from last night. But if Naruto didn't do this soon, he was going to lose his nerve.

He leaned in, planted both his palms on the wall either side of Sasuke's head and kissed the surprised lips until they started to respond. His lips weren't the only thing to respond. Sasuke reached out for him and roughly pulled him forward so Naruto was sitting in his lap and kissed him even more deeply.

Naruto let him. In fact it felt pretty good.

Too good. And not only that but because of where he was sitting he felt what it was doing to Sasuke too.

It was a little bit of a shock.

He sat up in bed and looked around him in the blackness of his bedroom. When he realized what had happened he groaned in frustration and fell back onto his pillow. He immediately tried to go back to sleep but his brain was too wired now and his body felt tense that there was no way that sleep was going to happen any time soon.

There were also _harder_ things to ignore as well.

"I'm too fucking jumpy!"

He didn't know if it had been the shock of Sasuke's response to what he had done that had woken him or whether he'd flipped out a little because of his own apparent enjoyment. Either way it gave him a lot to think about that a large part of him wished he could have put off thinking about just yet. But really what else was there to do?

Actually there was something else he could do, he could solve at least one of his problems. Not in the mood to finish himself off he got up and went to the bathroom and started up a nice cold shower for himself. While he was shivering under the spray and he began to think about it more clearly he had to start to admit that Sai had probably been right about what Sasuke had said to him.

The whole reason Naruto's dogged pursuit of Sasuke bothered the Uchiha so much was because it gave him the impression that Naruto cared for him a great deal more than a simple friendship would normally indicate. He thought that Naruto was doing it because he really loved him more than a friend should. But it was all so twisted up in his mind that he also assumed that nobody could ever care for him that much so it couldn't possibly be true and he was deluding himself. Not really knowing and being so confused was probably doing a number on his sanity all by itself. So Sasuke just kept on with his mission believing himself to be wrong about Naruto, but still being bothered by the thought nonetheless and making him doubt his actions. No wonder the very sight of Naruto used to make him annoyed, it probably just made him even more confused.

So what was his subconscious really trying to tell him? That he should kiss the real Sasuke the next time he saw him and everything would be peachy keen? Naruto doubted that greatly. And besides, who was to say that this was really how Sasuke felt when it could all just be Naruto's own mind messing with him? Sure it was obvious that this was how dream Sasuke felt, but he had to remind himself that it wasn't really Sasuke, so who knew?

At least he could be sure of one thing, and that was how he really felt about his absent friend. It wasn't all about trying to reassure dream Sasuke that he really cared for him in the way he wanted, it was to gain a better understanding how he felt as well. And Naruto had to admit, that once he got over the fact that Sasuke was his friend, his obsession and yeah, a guy, it had been easy to just let himself go and feel whatever he wanted to feel without further thought, consequence or care. It had been a little too easy. After the initial embarrassment he felt pretty comfortable with kissing him, and he actually felt a pang of loss now that he'd woken up and Sasuke was gone. What he wouldn't give to have Sasuke here with him, the real one, in the room with him when he'd woken up instead of dreaming about it in frustrating little doses.

He got out of the shower, dried himself off and got back into bed. Maybe if he closed his eyes he could just get back to-

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke demanded.

He was back in the cave. Sasuke looked like he'd stopped in the middle of pacing again and had turned on him as soon as he'd re-entered the dream.

Once Naruto got over the shock of stepping immediately back into the dream he thought about what Sasuke had asked him. "I was trying to figure something out," Naruto replied repeating the same words Sasuke had said to him after he'd first kissed him on the beach. Obviously he'd realised since then what Sasuke had meant by that. It had just taken him a little longer to get there.

"I take it you came to a conclusion then."

"I think I came to the same one you did actually. That's why I did what I did."

"You disappeared," Sasuke said like he was accusing him of something.

"Yeah, when I tried that before I wasn't sure if you were gonna kiss me back or hit me. I suppose I was more thinking you'd hit me 'cause it surprised me that you didn't seem to want to."

Sasuke frowned at him. "You disappeared because you got a shock?"

"Don't take that in a bad way, I can't help it when I'm surprised. I just woke up, and did some thinking until I was able to get back to sleep. I told you I wake up when I get shocked, we were talking about it when we first got to this new place…"  
>But Naruto didn't finish what he was saying. The look on Sasuke's face could only be described as terror.<p>

"Sasuke! What's wrong?"

But Sasuke didn't respond. He turned and ran out of the cave. By the time Naruto thought to run after him, he raced outside to find the ledge empty. Sasuke had disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Is the village we're going to today real far?" Naruto asked still yawning when he met his teammates by the gate and started heading down the road.<p>

"No. We should only be gone a couple of hours. Naruto you look worse than usual. Did you have the dream last night?"

For once he didn't want to talk about it. The most obvious reason was because he didn't want to talk about the conclusions he'd drawn considering his feelings toward Sasuke, but generally he just didn't want to hear Sakura's insight into his mental state just now. But it seemed that he couldn't hide the fact that he'd been dreaming, he must look worse than usual today.

"Yeah, but it wasn't much. We were talking about how when you fall in dreams you wake up, like a shock and Sasuke got all weird and ran off. It wasn't real exciting, just confusing."

"Really?" Sakura asked surprised. "That's a weird thing to get upset about."

"That's what I thought. Now where was this village again?"

To say Naruto was eager to get back to his dream was a bit of an understatement. He needed to see Sasuke again, they needed to sort out what was happening between them.

_Me and _dream_ Sasuke,_ Naruto amended quickly to himself.

He also wanted to know what the hell happened last night when Sasuke had run off. What the hell could have spooked him so badly?

So tonight he skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

* * *

><p>He was alone in the cave, but that didn't bother him much. Not until he'd been sitting there a good long while with nothing to do but stare at the fire and brood.<p>

Eventually Sasuke walked into the cave from the outside and Naruto got quickly to his feet. He didn't move toward Sasuke though thinking he might spook him or he'd get the wrong idea. But Sasuke didn't seem in the mood for patience himself and started striding toward Naruto with a determined look on his face.

"Sasuke, what-"

But Naruto never got to finish. Before he had a chance to voice the last word, Sasuke grabbed the side of his face with his right hand and his hip in the other and dragged him into a kiss.

Naruto just closed his eyes, forgetting entirely what it was that he had meant to ask. All he could feel was Sasuke's fingers on the side of his face and Sasuke's lips on his. Their tongues slid against one another and Naruto groaned into the kiss.

He felt Sasuke's hand on his hip snake around him to lie flat against the small of his back and a heavy pressure exerted by that hand to force them closer. He felt cool skin press up against his chest and belly as his mouth continued to be thoroughly explored by Sasuke's tongue.

He almost felt dizzy from the suddenness and the sensation of it all, but he managed to force himself to stay calm and collected lest he wrench himself out of the dream again.

Sasuke's hand on his back slipped lower underneath the waistband of the light pants to curve over his ass, he felt that pressure again as Sasuke pulled their lower bodies closer to one another. He knew he was already getting hard, but now he could feel Sasuke's obvious excitement rub up against him and calm just couldn't do it anymore.

Naruto's eyes snapped open to stare at the dark ceiling in his room above his bed.

"Fucking hell!"

Getting to sleep was faster this time, he was so tired now that no amount of distracting thoughts or discomfort could keep him awake.

When he popped back into the dream he was immediately accosted by Sasuke who stepped up behind him and grabbed him around the waist. He felt those cool lips on his neck and he leaned back against him. The lips worked their way up to his ear and asked in a soft voice.

"Are we having a problem here with too much excitement?" Such a mocking little whisper, and what it was implying too!

"Damnit teme, I'm not, you know, finishing. You're just making it hard for me to keep calm enough to stay asleep."

Sasuke's quick hand reached down and slipped into his pants. He felt that hand take a firm hold of him and his breath hitched.

"Still here?" Sasuke asked mockingly. "You weren't kidding about the hard part."

"I can't help it!"

"Waking up, or being excited?"

"Both."

"Then I have a suggestion."

The hand on him didn't go away, actually it started moving in quite a nice way. Sasuke's other hand let go of his hip and Naruto felt it slide down between their bodies down the back of his pants again. It didn't stop on his ass cheek this time. But he felt a slick finger slide in between his cheeks and ease into his hole before he could voice any sort of objection. Of course the forced and surprising intrusion made him wake up again and he found himself sweating, breathing hard and staring up at his ceiling once again.

"Damnit Sasuke!" He yelled at the ceiling.

It took him a little longer, but this time when he went back to sleep he was almost immediately dragged to the ground and he found himself pinned beneath a grinning Sasuke.

"What the hell Sasuke? Did you do that on purpose?"

"Actually I did. Better get over your shock now. I figure it's like the kissing. Once you've experienced it once, you know what to expect and it won't wake you up again. I think there's little I can do to you now, at least for the time being that will make you disappear again. This time I have you to the end."

It was perhaps a semi-torturous way to test a theory, but Naruto had to admit, it was probably for the best.

Sasuke leaned down over him and told him softly. "You're mine now, you can't escape."

Naruto could only think of one vaguely intelligent and truthful way of responding to that.

"About time."

* * *

><p>Morning came to the real world and Naruto woke up groggy and disorientated. He felt the bed next to him as though expecting to find someone there and felt disappointed when all he felt was bare cold space.<p>

Of course nobody was there, it was just a dream after all.

But what about the dream? Had things changed once again? Would he go to sleep tonight and find himself in a new place with new rules? He sort of hoped he'd find somewhere a little warmer at least. But he was more worried about the prospect that after last night the dreams might stop entirely.

The dream wasn't real, it wasn't really Sasuke. But it was _so_ close. He looked the same acted the same…sort of. It was as close to the real Sasuke as he was ever going to get, closer even, and he felt a tide of depression overtake him at the thought that last night had been the first and last night they'd ever get to be that close.

He lay in bed for a long time that morning, mostly thinking, pretty depressed and still very exhausted. He knew that if he didn't get up soon Sakura would come over here all angry that he was late and he didn't really want to deal with that right now. So he made himself get out of bed, take a shower and prepare to face the day. At least if he got the mission over with quickly it would mean he could come home and go back to sleep earlier than usual.

He just had to know if he would get to see Sasuke again.

Throughout today's mission Sakura watched him a lot when she thought he wasn't looking. It was starting to get on his nerves.

"What?" He eventually snapped when they were walking back through the gates at Konoha.

Sakura looked a little taken back by his tone which was a first. Even stranger when she didn't snap back.

"Did you get any sleep last night Naruto? You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"I'm fine Sakura-chan," Naruto told her in a nicer tone. It was forced though and only because she was obviously concerned. "I slept like a log."

"It's those weird dreams, isn't it? I told you they were a little strange. You have to let me take you to see Tsunade-sama. I think there's something really wrong."

"It's not the dreams. I stopped having those a few nights ago," he lied.

He didn't want to see Tsunade. She'd probably give him something to make him sleep without dreaming like Sakura had suggested when he'd first started having them. He didn't want to stop, he needed to see Sasuke again.

"Really?" Sakura asked. He couldn't tell from her tone whether she knew he was lying or just surprised. He couldn't concentrate.

"Yes really. I think I'm still just catching up on sleep. I'm fine honest."

"Okay," she replied uncertainly. Then, "Sai and I were just thinking about going to Ichiraku's for something to eat to celebrate the messenger missions finally being over. How about it, do you want to come along? My treat!"

Being unable to concentrate, Naruto didn't see her ploy.

"We were?" Sai asked.

Sai let out a little oof of pain when Sakura patted his back a might hard and said in a slow clear voice, "Yes Sai. We're going to treat Naruto, remember."

Sai took the hint. "Yes, we were."

Oblivious to anything that wasn't his pillow at the moment Naruto just started walking off in the direction of his home. "I'm a little tired still. I'm going to go home."

Sakura and Sai watched Naruto leave in the direction of his apartment. Sakura looked worried.

"I think something's really wrong here."

"He said he just needed to catch up on sleep," Sai pointed out.

"He's lying Sai. I just can't work out why. But there's definitely something else going on here."

Sai didn't look convinced. But it was sometimes hard to tell with him.

* * *

><p>Naruto walked into through his door, kicked off his shoes, locked his door and made his way into his bedroom. He lay down on his bed fully clothed and closed his eyes.<p>

When he opened them again he was back on that cliff ledge. Well, the dream was here at least and as soon as he came back into the dream he felt a lot better than he had when he'd been awake. He wasn't tired here, he could think clearly and he was…alone.

Frowning he turned and went inside the cave. The fire was still burning but other than that the cave was empty. Well, no big right? It wouldn't be the first time he went into the dream and found himself alone. Sasuke sometimes didn't pop up till later so he reminded himself to take a few deep breaths and sat down by the fire to wait.

He didn't have to wait long. He felt someone sit down behind him and saw a bent leg slide either side of him. He leant back and felt the warmth of another's skin up against his back and a pair of arms go round his midsection. He closed his eyes and breathed in a familiar scent.

"Teme, you're late."

"You're early, dobe. You always get here before me lately. Tomorrow I will beat you here first. Then you will be late."

"You're assuming I will leave before tomorrow."

The, "Hn," he heard behind him sounded amused but not unhappy by that prospect.

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Ah hah, well, I think most of you are starting to catch on, but I won't say why here just in case. I'm not very subtle though and I think most of you caught on from the beginning. I'll be very interested to read the reviews for this one so please let me know how I'm doing and what you are liking if anything.<em>

_As for the running tally with the hits: The US of course won again with Australia then Canada a close second and third. Not that it's important but since I started this, I figure I might as well keep it going just for interest's sakes. At the end I will give mention to everyone, I won't forget everyone else either_

_Dash._


	5. Dreams About Saying Goodbye

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 5**

**Dreams about Saying Goodbye.**

_Warm arms around him, the feeling of bare skin against bare skin._

"Sai, have you seen Naruto lately? I thought he wanted to train today?"

_The feel of lips against his throat, hot breath in his ear._

"No. I don't think I've seen him for a couple of days. Was it important?"

A sigh, a moan, an almost breathless exhale of a name pouring out of pleasured body and mind.

"No, I guess not."

Lying together afterwards, happy silence, comfortable and relaxing.

"You're not still worried about him are you? They're only dreams."

Happy nonsense talk while in reassuring casual embrace. Bliss.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just not like him to be so…absent."

* * *

><p>His team had been stood down for the next couple of days following the almost daily exercise of running messages to outlying villages. Not that Naruto would have cared either way. His door was locked, no one could bother him and he only woke up every so often to eat something and use the bathroom. The built up fatigue of the last couple of weeks made him so tired he could sleep for long periods of time. At first he woke up every ten hours or so but as time wore on, the times between waking up grew bigger and bigger until it got to be twenty hours since he'd last awoken. He didn't even really notice the passing of so many hours, only the changing of day to night kept him aware of it at all. He didn't know why he looked, it made no difference to him.<p>

Sasuke didn't seem to spend quite as much time in the dream as Naruto did. When Naruto asked him where he went, Sasuke just shrugged it off, told him it was unimportant and went about distracting him from further questioning in the nicest and most pleasant ways.

And it wasn't just the sex, even though sex did figure heavily in the moments they did spend together, sometimes it was just nice to sit and lean against each other, feel one another's warmth and stay quiet. Which was a new way for Naruto to spend his time, but Sasuke seemed to enjoy the quiet so Naruto made an effort to let him have his precious silence. Of course after a while of silence Sasuke would inevitably tell him to talk to him again and Naruto would chatter away while Sasuke listened.

He especially seemed interested in Sakura's interpretation of Naruto's dreams and amused by Sai's input too.

"Of course I suppose Sai kinda called it thinking it was a bit, you know, like I _liked_ you liked you. But at the time it was pretty embarrassing."

"Sakura seems to have thought about it a lot too," Sasuke murmured.

"Yeah, it was like some sort of soap opera for her. She used to bug me about it every day."

"Used to?"

"Well I sort of told her that I wasn't having the dreams all the time now. She kept getting this look like I was doing something bad. Not that I told her everything that was happening!" Naruto was quick to add after misinterpreting Sasuke's troubled look. "She just kept saying that the dreams were a little weird and I shouldn't be having them so often and getting so tired. I mean I know it's not entirely normal, I've never had dreams this vivid or long lasting, it's almost like I'm living a separate life, ya know? But I like this one better. There's no hassles, expectations or ramifications just like you said. Here I can just forget about everything and spend my days with you. Even if this isn't as nice as the forest or the beach, it's still better being here with you than being out there where everyone expects so much and you want to kill me."

Sasuke smirked at him. "You're sure about that last part are you?"

Naruto raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Even you should know that's true. You've tried to kill me a few times now."

Sasuke continued with the smirk. "Maybe. Maybe I knew you wouldn't die. Maybe I was only really trying to get you to stop confusing me."

Naruto didn't think much of either of those excuses. "I'm not stupid teme, I know that whatever you're like here, it isn't real out there."

"Hn, dobe."

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke lost his smirk though and looked Naruto in the eye. "It's been days now and every time I come here, you're here waiting. Just how much have you been sleeping?"

Naruto shrugged like it didn't matter. "A lot I guess. And what do you mean every time you come here? You're here almost as much as me. I don't even know where you disappear to anyway. It's not like there's really any place to go outside the cave."

"You really are an idiot aren't you, Naruto." Naruto's face reddened a little at the jab, but there was no point in telling him off. These days in the dream, when Sasuke said something insulting, it still carried the familiar self-assumed superiority it always had, but it was almost affectionate too. It made it difficult for Naruto to tell him off.

Right now Sasuke was watching him as though he was trying to decide on something. When he did seem to make up his mind, Naruto couldn't help but get the impression he'd just chickened out on something.

"You should listen to Sakura. It can't be healthy sleeping this much."

"If I want to spend my days off sleeping I will!" Naruto replied stubbornly.

Sasuke sighed. "When you wake up next you will stay awake for a few hours, have something to eat and leave the house for a while. No doubt you need a shower too." It sounded like an order.

Naruto got up slowly and crawled across to Sasuke who watched him with a faint smile.

"As if you can smell me here, teme. This is a dream, remember?"

"You do have a smell here, not a bad one, a familiar one," Sasuke replied leaning forward as Naruto got closer and making a show of breathing in the scent off his shoulder and neck before moving his head up to whisper directly into his ear, "But if you don't shower soon not even the barrier between dream and reality will be able to cover up your stink."

Naruto leaned back after losing the moment and frowned at Sasuke. "Jerk."

* * *

><p>Naruto tried to follow Sasuke's advice. When he next woke he ate as much food as he could, which turned out to be about three mouthfuls of bread because he couldn't be bothered heating up the water for ramen. And then he went off to have a shower. He was standing under the spray for about two minutes before he was standing back in the cave looking at a surprised Sasuke.<p>

"You only just left," Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing. "What did I tell you-"

"I tried Sasuke! I was so tired, but I had something to eat like you said, went and had a shower, and then I was just here again." His brow creased in thought. "I must have gone to sleep in the shower."

"Usuratonkachi! You probably cracked your head open when you fell!"

"Don't get so upset. I'm fine, I don't feel like I'm in any pain."

"Of course you wouldn't, you passed out dobe! You have to wake up!"

Seeing Sasuke this upset was a little bewildering to him. He never ever thought he'd see Sasuke freaking out at the thought that he might have hurt himself. Usually it was Sasuke who wanted to be the one to do the hurting. But hey, this wasn't real life was it.

"Fine, fine. But how do you suggest I wake up? I doubt there's anything left you can do to me that'll shock me."

Sasuke stalked over to him and grabbed his arm. He then started dragging him outside and over to the ledge. When Naruto saw where Sasuke was taking him he fought back and broke Sasuke's grip on him.

"What the fuck, Sasuke! I'm not jumping off there!"

"Yes you are. Falling, you said it was the only thing that worked every time."

"But what if I _have_ passed out, I wont wake up even if I fall for miles!"

"And if you don't wake up now and find out what happened to you, you might never wake up ever again! What if you fell and hurt yourself badly? You could be bleeding to death and you wouldn't even know it."

"I think you're freaking out way too much about this. I might only be laying in the tub peaceful as you please and there's no worries, right?"

"Even if you didn't hit your head, if you're laying in a bathtub and you block the drain with your own body or anything else you might drown. Just try to wake up will you!"

"Sasuke cut it out, you're being really morbid. There's probably nothing to worry about. I'll wake up in a bit, you'll see."

Sasuke grabbed both his arms, but he didn't try to drag him toward the cliff again. "You fell asleep in the shower after only being awake for five minutes, I think that's a good sign you're not okay whether your lying in a pool of your own blood or not. You need help and I think I can get you that help."

Naruto blinked at him. "Huh?"

But Sasuke ignored the question. He drew Naruto towards him and kissed him soundly. Then he stepped backwards, and he kept stepping backwards until Naruto saw him step right off the edge.

"Sasuke!"

* * *

><p>Sakura looked at the ninja cat sitting by her feet and grinning up at her smugly in only the way a cat could.<p>

"Sorry?" Sakura asked trying to get over the fact the cat was speaking to her. Not that it was talking; she had seen enough summoning animals to know one when she saw it. But she thought there must be some mistake. She couldn't think of anyone that used cats. Well she vaguely remembered…

"I have a message for you. I was told to tell you that Naruto needs help. He has passed out from the dreams and cannot wake up."

Sakura drew in a quick breath in surprise. "What? How do you-?"

But the cat grinned again and disappeared before her eyes. Rather than thinking about it any longer she ran off in the direction of Naruto's place as fast as she could.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up.<p>

He was lying in a hospital bed, not his own bed, and he was back in Konoha. He didn't quite know how to feel about that.

Sore, as it turned out. He gingerly felt his head to find a bandage wound tightly around it. The back of his head felt very sore and his head ached. So Sasuke had been right and he'd hurt himself when he'd fallen. Bastard, even when he wasn't real he still turned out to be a know it all.

Sakura was sleeping in a chair next to his bed and he wondered how long he must have been out for. It didn't feel like such a long time. After Sasuke had stepped off the cliff he'd stared down after him for a while, not being able to see Sasuke or the bottom for that matter. He'd gone back into the cave and sat by the fire for a little while then…blackness. He supposed it had something to do with his head injury. He'd probably been unable to keep dreaming. He felt a little woozy now, but not as tired anymore. Apparently being unconscious had given his body the proper rest it needed to recover from his last few weeks of sleep deprivation.

He wondered about the dream though, if he went to sleep now would he be able to go back into it? Would he ever be able to go back into the dream again or had he broken away from it completely? He was so worried that he had he almost tried to go back into it then and there, but Sakura stirred beside him and he decided he should probably face the music now rather than waking up to her hitting him or something.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked sitting up and blinking at him.

"Uh hi, Sakura-chan."

It took Sakura a few moments to come to her senses a little more but when she did her face went a little red with anger and she stood up abruptly.

"Naruto, you idiot! You told me you were fine and then you pass out in your shower! That's not fine Naruto!"

Naruto was trying not to cower with the fear of being hit and making his head worse, but Sakura seemed content enough to yell at him for the moment.

"Wait, you weren't the one that found me were you?"

This time Sakura coloured for a slightly different reason. "Well there was no time, the message that you were in trouble sounded urgent."

"What message?" Naruto asked in confusion. "Who could have known I would be in trouble?"

"I don't know, but someone knew how bad those dreams were for you," Sakura said sitting back down apparently calmer now. "I spoke to Tsunade-sama about those dreams you were having and how vivid they were and how they were affecting you while you were awake. She agreed with me that it didn't sound like a normal type of dream. You looked so sick Naruto, I just knew something had to be wrong! After examining you Tsunade-sama thinks it might be some kind of genjutsu someone put on you to affect you while you were sleeping. The fact that it weakened you to the point of almost killing…it could have turned out a lot worse Naruto."

Naruto didn't know what to say. The dreams had been an attack of some sort? "But when did the attack start?"

"It could have been set ages ago and it might have been triggered just recently. I thought about that. The fact that you were dreaming about Sasuke, I wonder if he did something to you the last time you two fought."

"His Sharingan wasn't working," Naruto replied remembering.

"He would have had to use that for something like this," Sakura agreed. "But still, it could have been triggered by you two fighting. Somebody that knew something like that was inevitable. It must have something to do with Sasuke at least."

_Sasuke or Itachi_, Naruto thought to himself. He still didn't fully know what Itachi had done to him when he'd met him in the forest just before Sasuke had killed him, maybe this was it. But Itachi had wanted to protect Sasuke, so why would he just give Naruto a lot of potentially fatal dreams? It didn't make a lot of sense. Unless of course he assumed that Sasuke would still be around to break him out of the genjutsu before it got too late. Naruto sighed, who knew, maybe it had nothing to do with Itachi at all.

"You said a messenger told you I was in trouble?"

"Yeah it was a summoning animal, a cat. It told me that you'd passed out from the dreams and you needed help."

"How could anyone possibly know I passed…out…?"

"Did you think of something?" Sakura asked watching his face. He must have been giving away too much from his expression so he was sure to give her a big smile whether he felt like it or not.

"Nah, Sakura-chan. Just thinking."

"Anyway Tsunade-sama is making something up for you to drink so you won't be bothered by the dreams for a while. She thinks that if we can stop you from entering a dream state for a couple more days you should be free of it. We can't break you out of it any other way because it only disturbs your chakra while you sleep. So instead of having to have someone by your side all night it's easier just to give you the draught. I really should have done that for you the first time I suspected something was wrong."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. In a couple of days it won't matter anymore."

_And the dream will be gone…_

Sakura said that the potion wasn't going to be ready until later so he had to just stay awake until then. Which would have been easy enough if Naruto wanted to stay awake.

He wasn't stupid, and now that he wasn't so tired he could think clearly again. He knew the dreams were no good. But if he was right, he needed just another little jaunt in order to set things straight.

* * *

><p>He waited until Sakura had left to finally go home and get some rest herself, then he settled down in the hospital bed and closed his eyes.<p>

Well this was new. It was a big meadow this time covered in lush looking grass and dotted here and there with red flowers. The sky above had the odd white cloud floating in it, casting the occasional shadow on the ground but other than that, the sky was clear and blue. The rolling hills seemed to go on forever.

A shadow fell on the ground telling him someone was behind him.

"This isn't really a normal dream is it?" Naruto asked, watching the shadow. He wouldn't turn around. Looking at Sasuke would make it harder to leave again.

"No," Sasuke replied shortly.

"You didn't do this, not even you knew from the beginning that we were both dreaming. I know that much."

"If I did this I don't know how. I don't think it was me. I didn't know you were really you until you told me that you were shocked awake. I thought before when we talking about it, it was just for my benefit. When I realized…"

"You could have said something!"

"I thought about it. But I guess in the end I just wanted to see what you would do if you thought there were no consequences to your actions. I wanted to know how much you cared about me without you worrying what the real me might think. It made it easier. I knew it was really you and I knew finally how you really felt," Sasuke told him matter-of-factly.

"Good for you Sasuke," Naruto spat back sarcastically. "It was a little unfair don't you think?"

"Like I care."

"You cared enough to wake yourself up and send a message to Sakura when you thought I might have hurt myself."

"I didn't really realize what the dream was doing to you. I think I wasn't as affected as you because I am used to genjutsu. It didn't make me as tired as you. I still wanted to sleep because the dreams were sort of addictive. But I didn't _have_ to. I ate properly and didn't gain any ill effects from it. I didn't realize just how bad it was for you until you told me that Sakura was worried about you. But even then, I thought all you needed was a proper meal and a time out."

"It's not like you to make excuses."

"I'm not excusing anything, I'm simply explaining. You aren't very smart Naruto, I worked it out and I was beginning to wonder even before that. You on the other hand had to be flat out told."

"Even now you're still a jerk."

"And you're still a dobe. I should have known from the beginning that my dream version of you would have been at least a little smarter."

"Shut up, teme! I-" But Naruto cut himself off when he felt the lightest brush of fingers against the back of his neck.

"The real you however is infinitely more satisfying though. I should know, this isn't the first dream I've had about you. I doubt it will be the last."

Naruto was surprised at that little bit of news. He felt a little more content in the knowledge that his little obsession wasn't completely one-sided.

"It'll be the last one we have together though. Starting tonight I have to stop dreaming. I don't know if I can."

"You will," Sasuke said firmly. "And things will go back to the way they were."

"I don't want it to! You can't say that nothing has changed."

"Some things have. I'm not so confused for one. But I don't think I can stop moving forward. I told you why."

"And I told you I could help you."

He heard Sasuke sigh. "I doubt it's as easy as that."

Somehow he knew that would be Sasuke's answer. "Maybe Sakura was right. Almost from the beginning she thought the whole point behind these dreams was to give us a chance to say goodbye properly to one another before the end. Maybe that's what this has always been about, if all we do is go back to what it was like before."

Sasuke leaned in closer and Naruto could just feel the warmth of him barely touching his skin. He wanted to lean back, to connect again, but he remained rooted where he was. He didn't want to make this harder than it already was.

"Then why don't you say it?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Because I don't want it to be goodbye. It's too final when I know I will see you again."

"How about simply, "'for now' then?"

Naruto nodded, but he couldn't speak.

Sasuke kissed the side of his neck and said softly into his ear. "Goodbye Naruto. I will see you again."

"Goodbye," Naruto whispered and the warmth at his back disappeared along with the shadow his eyes had been glued to. "For now."

End of Part 1.

TBC in Part 2.

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Apologies for the lateness! You'll have to excuse me, I got sick again and all writing was halted for a solid week but I managed as fast as I could for you all.<em>

_So I know this last chapter is not what people were expecting. I know a few of you were hoping I'd have them meet in the real world and awkwardness would ensue and I almost changed the ending to suit because of that. But in the interests of not making you wait too long for the conclusion I settled on just doing what I had planned from the beginning and ending it there with perhaps a possible opening for a continuation if the mood strikes me in the future. For now this is it though and I really hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. And since this is the last chapter I crave a whole slew of reviews letting me know if you enjoyed it or hated it. Last chapter and last chance hehe._

_Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed your present fic Gaby and that it lived up to expectations _

_Dash_

_More notes: Oh um the hit winners this time were the US, UK and Sweden. Overall for the entire fic the most hits came from the US, Canada and Australia with the UK a very close fourth. Thanks to everyone from (in no particular order) the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Sweden, Philippines, Mexico, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, French Polynesia, Hungary, Mauritius, Thailand, Portugal, Chile, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Albania, Finland, Brazil, Switzerland, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Spain, Peru, Monaco, India, Jamaica, Poland, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Revar, Oman, Cameroon, Russian Federation, Iran, Korea, Nigeria, Slovenia, Greece, Ukraine, Venezuela, Israel, Bermuda, Ireland, United Arab Emirates & Maldives. Phew that was a lot. Didn't want anyone left out If you read and I forgot your country I apologize but this was all ffnet gave me. Sorry I know that was kinda long winded but I always get amazed by the sheer amount of different cultures that are drawn to the same fandoms and I know most of you writers have similar or larger records in your stats pages, but for those that don't post and are only here to read I thought you might find this as interesting as I did. Or not, I might just be a little weird hehe._


	6. Dreams About Flowers In Fields

_AN: Welcome Back! It has been some time since I left off from this hoping inspiration might throw a brick at me and knock a good idea into my head but alas it took a lot longer than I had hoped. For those of you that got to read Remember Me while I toyed with plot ideas for this fic, hopefully you feel compensated, but for those of you waiting for this Part 2 to come out with nothing to read, sorry about the wait, but some things can't be rushed._

_For those of you who did read my last fic I know I managed to upload at least once a week almost without fault, I'm sorry to say that this story won't be updated quite so often. Crazy work hours mean I have less time to write so I hope to have fortnightly updates for you guys instead which is how I think this fic was updated originally anyway. This fic isn't quite so big as Remember Me or even the WNL series so you should have your conclusion by about chapter 9 or 10. But this is the first fic I have posted yet where I do not have a specific ending pre-thought up for me to aim at also so who knows how long I might go on for:) But I decided not to make everyone wait even longer for me to think that part up so we'll see how true that prediction turns out to be._

_Big thanks to PJ who once again decided to beta for me, you're the greatest!_

_Anyway, read, enjoy (I hope) and thank you for getting this far._

_Dash._

_Btw, Fav Dash story poll on my Profile. Curious to see how it turns out._

* * *

><p><strong>Dreams Aren't Real<strong>

**Part 2**

**Chapter 1 (6)**

**Dreams About Flowers In Fields.**

Naruto spent a good few moments looking around him, unsure whether what he was seeing and experiencing was a good thing or a bad thing.

The scenery was familiar that was for sure. The rolling fields, the grass covered ground, dotted here and there with little red flowers. He could feel the wet grass underneath his bare feet, could feel the warm sun on the bare skin of his back, but something was wrong. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here, he wasn't supposed to ever be here again. And that was because he was asleep and this was undoubtedly one of _those_ dreams.

He hadn't had a dream like this in almost six months. The regiment of potions he'd taken for a fortnight each night before falling asleep had meant he'd have dreamless sleep and according to Tsunade was supposed to break him out whatever genjutsu he'd been placed under however long ago now. And in those two weeks he hadn't dreamt at all, let alone dreamt those incredibly vivid dreams he'd been sharing with Sasuke. After the fortnight had passed he'd dreamt normal dreams again, sometimes even pale reflections of the Sasuke dreams but they hadn't been the same, only memories of the real thing and nothing new at all.

He'd thought the genjutsu dreams were behind him now, for better or worse.

Should he be worried now that apparently this wasn't the case? Those dreams had become so addictive to him in the past that he'd almost died from the effects of them. Or should he be happy that he was being given a second try at them better armed with the knowledge of what they were so he could be more aware and not so naive. Okay, sure, new knowledge would help combat being naive and getting addicted to the dreams if that was the case, but he couldn't deny how much of a strain it had placed on his body the last time. He could do damage to himself without wanting to.

Good sense told him to wake himself up now, go to Tsunade or Sakura and tell them it was happening again so they could help him overcome it a second time. Of course, good sense flew out the window when he saw on the not too distant small grassy rise, a guy his own age sitting, dressed only in gray pants and facing away from him, his dark hair being tossed by the slight breeze.

It felt like his heart had just dropped down into his belly and his lungs would only take in half a breath just from the sight. He screwed his eyes closed and made himself think rationally. Something he could never do when he saw Sasuke normally.

He couldn't go through this again. The dreams had almost killed him the last time, he couldn't imagine living through it a second time. Not only from the physical effects it had on his body, but the emotional effects of being here with Sasuke, being friends and more with him while in the outside world the same person wanted to kill him and destroy his village. He just didn't know if he could handle it this time, knowing that this was somehow real in a way, that it was really Sasuke talking to him, kissing him and holding him. It was far easier when he didn't know and didn't care about what was happening in the real world.

Sasuke hadn't seen him yet, so there was still time to decide what to do.

But then as though sensing something, Sasuke turned around. Even with the distance, Naruto could see the recognition pass across his face and then a very un-Sasuke like expression: Relief. Naruto stood transfixed as Sasuke got to his feet, his eyes never leaving Naruto.

Naruto couldn't will himself to attempt to wake up now, he couldn't will himself to do anything other than breathe and stare. He knew it was no good in that moment, he was trapped in his own dream again because he just simply didn't want to leave.

As Naruto stared, Sasuke smirked and vanished from the rise. Naruto blinked at the sudden disappearance and almost jumped when he heard very darkly in his ear Sasuke's cool voice.

"Welcome back, dobe."

On reflection it was probably not the best move to turn around and see that perfect face and those dark amused eyes. He should have just done what he did last time and not look at Sasuke, just say what he wanted to say and leave. But he'd reacted before his common sense had kicked in and he felt the all too familiar pull of addiction and obsession pull him back in.

At least he managed to stop short of doing something really embarrassing like throwing himself at Sasuke and kissing him. Instead he took a determined step backwards and watched Sasuke's lips curve into an all too familiar smirk, as though he knew what Naruto had stopped himself doing and just how hard it had been.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here? I told you I couldn't come back."

"You might have been stopped from dreaming, but that doesn't mean the rest of us had a team of medical ninja helping us break out of it."

Naruto frowned. "You've been dreaming this dream the whole time?"

"On and off," Sasuke shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's not a bad place. Better than some dreams can be."

"Must have been pretty lonely."

"I like solitude. And I like the quiet." Sasuke replied pointedly.

"Hang on, you said you had more of a handle on this than I did. You must have been able to stop the genjutsu if you wanted."

"Obviously not. Who cares, like I said, it isn't hurting me and this dream isn't so bad."

Naruto couldn't be sure and he wasn't real perceptive most of the time, he'd be the first to admit it, but he could have sworn Sasuke was lying. Which part he was lying about though, he had no idea.

"You just teleported," Naruto said instead mentioning the other thing that was bothering him.

"So I did."

"Teme, don't be such a smug smart ass! You couldn't do that before."

"You said it yourself, I have more of a handle on this than you. And I've had time to practice. This is a dream, right? It's inside our heads, what makes you think we can't control it how we want to?"

"I almost died the last time I got pulled into these dreams," Naruto pointed out. "Doesn't sound like I had great control then."

"Yeah, but it's pretty obvious that you and I are two very different people."

"Are you trying to imply I'm not as smart as you are?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"Yes."

"Well, fuck you!"

"If you like."

Naruto shut his mouth and went a little red which only embarrassed him further. He didn't know why the very reminder of that should embarrass him considering what had happened between them in previous dreams. Actually he did, now he knew that Sasuke was really sharing his dream and it wasn't just happening in his mind anymore. Before he'd made believe that the dreams had no consequences in real life, but if Sasuke was experiencing the same things he had, then he would wake up every morning with a very lucid memory of the dream and what had happened within it. It wasn't like make believe anymore, it was like it was really real. And it didn't matter what they'd shared before because it would always be in the back of his mind that things had changed now.

Sasuke seemed to understand his embarrassmen,t even if he didn't share it. Actually he looked like he was enjoying it.

He should just leave now while he was troubled about it and before he got too involved again. The only problem was that he didn't know how to do that.

Sasuke seemed to sense the change from embarrassment to indecision and immediately lost his smug smile. Actually he began to look a little annoyed.

"You want to leave," Sasuke guessed.

"You want me to keep dreaming like this and almost die again?"

"You are so fucking melodramatic. It took weeks before for you to get into such a state that you passed out in the shower. And besides, there are ways you can stay without running the same risks. I've been dreaming like this for a while, I know how to control it better. I may be able to teach you, as stupid as you are, how to stay relatively unaffected."

"Really?" Naruto asked letting the stupid remark slide by for now.

"Yes, really. The real question now is, do you want to start dreaming again, or do you want to quit and play it safe."

If Sasuke was telling him the truth, and there really was a way for him to dream with Sasuke and not let it affect him in the real world, he was more than a little interested. Embarrassing acts aside, he'd missed coming here, hanging out with his friend and just getting to relax and be himself. And if he hadn't been slowly dying on the outside, the dreams might have proven to be very therapeutic for him.

"I thought you said you liked the solitude and the silence," Naruto said buying much needed thinking time.

"Hn, it's not like your mind takes up a lot of space here."

"C'mon Sasuke, are you really that eager to get me back here? You keep on as though it's all up to me and what I want. What about you?"

At first it looked as though Sasuke wasn't going to answer him. But he must have caught the look in Naruto's eye, the one that told him that if he didn't answer this question truthfully, the whole deal would be off. It seemed as though pride and being cool would have to take a backseat to honesty.

"I want…" Sasuke sighed. "I want more time."

"With me?"

"Yes, with you, here, okay?" Sasuke replied in clipped irritation.

Naruto felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "Okay Sasuke, what's the plan?"

* * *

><p>"Sakura, can I speak to you for a moment?"<p>

Sakura looked surprised to see him and Naruto couldn't blame her. He almost never visited her when she was working a shift at the hospital. And how could she blame him. He spent too much time here as a guest, he didn't feel like visiting on his days off. Even when his friends where checked in he didn't spend a lot of his free time here other than to check they were okay and then leave again.

"Uh, sure Naruto. What's up?"

"Um, in private if I can."

"Sure." Sakura finished with her patient and led Naruto to an unoccupied room where they could talk without being overheard.

"So what's wrong? Are you sick? You look a little peaky."

"Nah, nah Sakura-chan," Naruto replied scratching the back of his neck to cover his nervousness. "I was just wondering if you had any of that sleeping potion stuff you made up for me before."

Sakura frowned. "You're having the dreams again?"

"Yeah, I had one last night. I'm sure it's nothing I probably just needed to take the potions a little longer that's all."

"You're pretty blasé about someone's attempt on your life Naruto. You need to tell Tsunade-sama about this."

"No please Sakura, it's not a big deal. We handled it before right, we know how to deal with this. Granny'll worry, and yell," Naruto added as an afterthought.

"Of course she'll worry, this is serious. Remember, we never found out who was doing this to you. What if Sasuke did this," Sakura said as though she really didn't want to, "What if this was his attempt to kill you before you could stop him from destroying the village? I know you didn't think he did it, but how sure can you be?"

"Look if Sasuke did this, he didn't do it intentionally."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I, uh," Naruto realized his mistake too late. Luckily Sakura seemed to have her own theory about why he'd said that. Even more lucky for him because it was totally wrong.

"I know you want to think the best of him Naruto," Sakura said a shade more gently. "I know you want to think he's not capable of doing it. But he tried his hardest to kill me the last time we saw him. He would have tried to kill you too."

"It doesn't really matter who is responsible right now. I just want to try another week or two of potions. If it's not under control by then I promise I'll tell Tsunade, okay? She has enough to worry about without giving her something else too. She's doesn't need this."

He felt a little guilty for making her feel bad about bothering Tsunade, but it was true enough, it wasn't worth worrying her about this.

Sakura watched him for a few moments apparently deciding what to do. Eventually she relented.

"Alright Naruto, we'll do it your way. But if this doesn't stop the dreams after a week, and if you don't tell Tsunade-sama, I will. Ya got that Naruto?"

Naruto gave her a smile. "Thanks, Sakura-chan. I owe you one."

* * *

><p>"So what's the idea of getting the potions and not taking them?" Naruto asked Sasuke when he slept that night.<p>

They were sitting on a grassy rise more or less facing one another. Sasuke sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, arms stretched out behind him, holding his body up while Naruto sat crossed legged and slowly shredded the grass between them in a nervous sort of way. Sasuke wasn't watching him, he had his face turned up toward the sky, eyes closed as though enjoying the feel of the sun on his face. That was the weird thing Naruto had noticed about Sasuke these past two nights. Sasuke was relaxed here, more than Naruto had ever seen him before in real life. He was harder to annoy, more laid back and calm. Naruto had begun to realize that these dreams were a sort of escape for Sasuke from his real life. In real life he had his insane sense of duty to occupy his mind, but here he could do nothing about it so he'd seemed to decide to simply just let it go for a few hours.

He never talked about what was happening to him in the real world and changed the subject or ignored Naruto completely whenever he brought the subject up. Naruto got the impression that he didn't want to talk about it because he didn't want to think about it here. Here he could be himself in dream world and forget what was happening on the outside for a few hours. No wonder he'd kept coming back here even by himself while Naruto was gone.

"After four days you'll take one each night for two. It will give your body a chance to rest and recover."

"So I dream for four nights and sleep properly for two." Naruto confirmed to get it straight in his head. "Okay, but I only have seven potions. I can't ask Sakura for more, she'll get suspicious."

"You wont need more. Before you run out you will have learnt how to control the dreams like I do."

Well this was news to him. "I'm no good with genjutsu, Sasuke. How can you be so sure I can learn this?"

"You will."

If it had been a confident tone, as though Sasuke was sure of Naruto's ability and skill, he might have felt happy about that. But it had been more like an order. 'You _will _do this, I have spoken' kind of declaration that annoyed Naruto no end.

"You can't order me around like your slave teme."

Sasuke looked at him, his face expressionless. "Yes I can."

"Uh, no you can't."

Sasuke uncoiled from where he was sitting and pushed Naruto back. Naruto was too stunned to do anything but let himself be pushed backwards and pinned to the ground, his hands above his head and Sasuke holding him down.

"I can control the dreams now, I could keep you here as my prisoner until your waking body withered away into nothing. I can use the very environment to keep you contained." As Sasuke said this Naruto felt the grass shifting underneath him and something rise up to wrap itself around his legs and arms. "I could do all of this and you would be powerless the way you are now to stop me."

Naruto's breathing was shallow and unsteady. He didn't know if it was because Sasuke was draped over him and he could feel the other's body pressed into him or whether it was because Sasuke was exerting a threatening influence over him.

"Why don't you?" Naruto asked him hesitantly.

Sasuke gave him a half smile. "Because I choose not to."

Sasuke got off him then and the vines or whatever they had been ceased holding him to the ground. Naruto sat up slowly and rubbed his wrists where Sasuke had been holding him.

"You're just showing off," Naruto accused him.

"Yes, I am. So what?"

The trouble with arguing with Sasuke, was that Sasuke seemed to understand his own shortcomings and accept them, for the most part. Didn't mean he did anything to change those annoying personal habits though. Over confidence and ego seemed to be something he was quite proud of actually. It had been a part of this confidence that had attracted Naruto's attention in the first place. Even if that first attention had been due to annoyance rather than awe. Though that was somewhere in there too. It was what strove Naruto to be better, faster, stronger, everything he'd always seen Sasuke to be. While at the same time, hoping to not be such an asshole about it.

"What are you gonna teach me?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'll teach you how to wake yourself up, and how to relax your mind in your dream to put less stress on your sleeping body. I'll also teach you how to upset your chakra even while asleep so you can avoid the dream entirely if you want to."

Naruto was impressed. "Will you teach me how to teleport or make things come up out of the ground as well?"

"No."

"That's so unfair!"

"Do I look like I care?"

"You just like being able to do something I can't. You like having the upper hand."

"Yes."

"Urgh, Sasuke!"

"Shut up dobe, or I'll tie you to the ground again and gag you."

It was a sort of threat, but Naruto's mind went straight to the part when Sasuke was lying over him again. He chewed on his lip.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked a little more tentatively this time.

Sasuke had adopted his former pose, eyes closed, face up and didn't look at Naruto when he said, "I thought I told you to shut up."

"It's important."

"Fine."

Now that he had the go ahead, Naruto found it hard to begin. It was something that had been on his mind for a while though, and if he didn't ask soon he was going to go nuts.

"When you knew it was really me, and not just a dream, did you…I mean," Naruto heaved a big sigh. "This is awkward."

Sasuke did look at him now, smirk firmly in place. "Is this about sex?"

Naruto went red. "Um, yeah."

"I thought I already answered this. And remember, I didn't try to get into your pants till after I knew the reality behind the dreams. It's only awkward for you. And I don't understand why it should be. Are you embarrassed because I know your dirty little secret, is that the problem?"

"Maybe."

"So what? Do you take it all back, do you wish it never happened. Are you really going to try and convince me that if you knew it was the real me you never would have done it?" Sasuke asked mockingly.

"I don't think I could have done it so easily," Naruto replied truthfully. "So it never bothered you knowing that I would know everything too?"

"No."

"Why?" Naruto asked mystified.

"Maybe it's because I don't care what you think."

"Teme!"

Sasuke sighed. "I don't have a lot of people that really care about me like you do. I've shared a lot more with people I'm a lot less close to. And that sort of stuff doesn't really embarrass me much."

"Yeah, I kinda got that impression. So why…?"

"Haven't I stripped you naked and fucked you senseless yet?" Sasuke finished for him.

If Naruto could get any redder he'd look like a tomato. "Um, yeah."

"Do you want me to?"

"I don't know."

"That's why I haven't. Besides I don't do tricks on command."

"I wish other people knew just how weird you were," Naruto told him.

"I guess only you get that pleasure. And anyway, if we spent the entire time screwing like before, we'd never get any training done."

Naruto was left wondering after the dream that night whether it was worth becoming the master of his dreams or not.

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: The chapter was kind of short, but there was a lot packed in there. So I hope it lived up to expectations though if it hasn't so far I apologise. Some of you might know that it took me a while to restart this fic because I just couldn't come up with an idea. There was never meant to be a Part 2 for this fic but hopefully I've come up with an idea that will give it a more conclusive feel. And yeah, I know I might have stepped away from dream interpretation a bit, but conclusion needs more plot but I hope you all still enjoy it!<em>

_Dash._


	7. Dreams About Learning With Distractions

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 2 (7)**

**Dreams About Learning With Distractions**

"Ow!" Naruto rubbed the side of his neck and glared at Sasuke who was sitting in front of him, smirking at him and twirling a small stick between his fingers. How he'd even found a stick in this treeless environment was beyond him. Naruto often saw Sasuke with things he couldn't possibly have found lying around, and Naruto stared at it now while Sasuke's smirk just deepened.

He'd been trying to concentrate with his eyes closed when Sasuke had poked him in the side of the neck with the stick. This sort of thing wasn't new. For a few nights now Sasuke had been trying to teach Naruto to break out of the dreams on his own. Sasuke had told him it was just like breaking out of a genjutsu. Unfortunately Naruto wasn't at all competent in breaking out of genjutsus even when he was awake. Trying to control his chakra in his sleeping body from a dream was proving the be next to impossible.

But that's just what Sasuke said he did. Even asleep Sasuke could control the chakra flow in his body to such a degree that he could wake himself up in moments. He could also regulate his chakra while he was sleeping so it spiked randomly to keep him out of the dream on nights where he didn't want to dream. But the most pertinent thing he could do in regards to Naruto's issue of the dreams wearing him down to the point of death, was to completely negate the effect of physical exhaustion. Sasuke said he could relax himself, his real self, in the outside world to rest properly while he was dreaming. It allowed him to dream for many nights in a row without feeling too drained by it. Dreaming still mentally tired him out, but at least he wasn't suffering physically like Naruto had. And this is what he was trying to teach Naruto at the moment.

Naruto had to stay sitting perfectly still and relax his mind, closed to all distractions around him. Finally this was something he could do. He'd practiced this in the past in order to draw in nature energy the only trick now was to do it without letting Sasuke distract him which Sasuke seemed to take great pleasure in doing.

"I don't get it," Naruto muttered still rubbing his neck from the sixth time Sasuke had poked him. "What's meditating in my dream going to do for me?"

"What affects your mind here affects your body in the real world. If you can keep a part of your mind still and calm in this world, your body will relax more and you will sleep better."

Naruto sighed at Sasuke's matter of fact explanation. "It might help if you stopped poking me with that stick."

"I told you that no matter what was happening to you here you had to remain focused. I'm only trying to help."

"Then stop poking me!"

"Fine."

Naruto closed his eyes again but he could still feel Sasuke watching him. He tried to tune it all out and relax his mind and he did manage it so much that he didn't notice Sasuke move till he felt the strangest sensation of a warm gust of breath hit his face as Sasuke blew air on his nose from about three inches away from his face.

Naruto resolutely kept his eyes closed and frowned. "Cut it out, teme."

So of course Sasuke did it again.

But Naruto wasn't going to let him win. He would ignore Sasuke's attempts to distract him and do this. And he'd almost done it. He no longer felt Sasuke's breath on his face. He was only very vaguely aware as something soft (petals?) touched his check and ran down over his jaw and across his lips. Actually he found the attention quite soothing and it sort of helped him relax.

He found his head leaning into the touch of the petals without really realizing it. If he'd had a moment to understand what was happening, he probably would have been embarrassed, but he didn't and it felt nice.

And so did the warm soft touch against his lips. The gentle massage, the slick wet flick of something sliding against his bottom lip as though wanting in. He opened his mouth and let it slide against his tongue. But it was all happening in a hazy distant world of sensation. He felt fingers slide up the back of his neck and into his hair, twining themselves through the locks and pulling his hair a little roughly. Rough enough to snap him out of whatever daze he'd been in.

He made a muffled sound against Sasuke's lips as he regained control of all his senses again. He could have pushed Sasuke away, he could have at least stopped kissing him. But he didn't, he didn't want to.

It wasn't like he'd forgotten what had happened between them back when he thought this was all a dream and his actions didn't have real life consequences. He'd just sort of gotten embarrassed a little about it now that he knew Sasuke was real and he was experiencing the exact same thing.

But it wasn't like Sasuke would have the same issues. Sasuke had known the reality of the dream before they'd fucked each other's brains out repeatedly on the cave floor, against the cave walls and generally anywhere else that wasn't too cold or uncomfortable. Well okay, even in those places too. But it wasn't just that, it was the things he had said to Sasuke during, before and after those times. Embarrassing emotional things that he'd been trying like hell to stop from coming up again.

This was, in a way, a lot better. Sensation was something he remembered. So he didn't stop the kiss, he kept it going till it was Sasuke that drew back, lips pink and shiny, his eyes smirking.

"You failed."

"Ask me if I care," Naruto muttered still more than a little dazed. When he realized what he said his eyes widened and he looked a little panicked.

This time the grin from his eyes met the rest of Sasuke's face.

"You should care, we've been at this for five nights not including the two you took the potions for, you should have learnt a lot more by now."

"You're the one constantly distracting me."

"It's part of the training."

"And so was kissing me?"

"Yes."

Naruto looked at him in disbelief for a moment before he realized something important.

"You fucking liar."

Sasuke actually looked pleased that he had been caught out. "Half lying," he corrected. "But no matter what is happening to you here, you have to keep at least one part of your mind focussed and relaxed otherwise it won't work. And it shouldn't matter what is happening, you need to train your mind so you aren't focussed on one thing only."

"That explains annoying me, but not you…doing that."

"It does if you think about it. Which relaxed you more, being kissed or being poked in the neck with a stick?"

"Before or after I realised what was happening?" Naruto asked a little annoyed.

"Does it matter?"

And to Naruto's further annoyance, it didn't really matter. Being kissed by Sasuke was not bad, nor was it really all that shocking anymore. He'd been lost in sensation, even after he'd come back to his senses fully, he hadn't wanted to stop because it fell nice, comforting and familiar, even though it had been a while since the last time.

"Okay fine! So it was better than being poked in the neck with a sharp stick. Does that soothe your ego at all?"

Perhaps, to judge by how quickly Sasuke lost his smirk, that last comment had been a little cruel. He hadn't thought Sasuke would take it so personally though.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered feeling bad but still feeling a little annoyed anyway.

"I don't get it," Sasuke said after a moment watching Naruto with narrowed eyes. "I know you're all embarrassed now that you know I'm real and everything, but I would have thought you'd get over it."

"Why?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fucking moron." And then he disappeared.

Naruto was left staring at the space Sasuke had been sitting in not a second ago blinking in surprise.

This was the first time since coming back here that Sasuke had left before him. Usually Sasuke stuck around until after Naruto had woken and it disturbed him more than a little that he'd managed to piss Sasuke off so much to change his habits now.

Naruto didn't have to think about it long to figure out why. Sasuke never said why he was always the last to leave the field, but Naruto knew it was to make doubly sure Naruto woke up when he was supposed to. That Naruto wouldn't be tempted to stick around and possibly end up hurting himself again. And now that it seemed Sasuke didn't care enough to stay, it depressed him more than a little.

Sure pissing Sasuke off was not a hard feat. Well it hadn't been before, but lately, no matter how much Naruto argued with him, Sasuke stayed almost, well not serene as far as normal people might view it, but certainly laid back for Sasuke. He wondered if Sasuke had really changed or whether he had only changed where the dreams were concerned.

Whatever the case, pissing Sasuke off had actually been a bit of surprise and Naruto had to wonder just what he'd said which was so different, so bad, that Sasuke had reacted that way. Cool indifference seemed to be Sasuke's thing these days, not disappearing in a huff because Naruto had maybe hurt…his…feelings.

Naruto let out a big puff of air and said, "Fuck. I actually hurt his feelings didn't I?"

* * *

><p>Naruto still had three more nights to go before his next round of potions but he had to wonder whether Sasuke would show up the following night. He was pissed off and perfectly capable of staying out of the dreams if he wanted to and Naruto was left feeling like he might be stood up tonight because the Uchiha didn't want to see him.<p>

And certainly Naruto came into the dream alone and stayed that way for what he estimated to be hours and still Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Resigned to having a lonely night, Naruto decided he might as well put his time to good use and try to meditate like Sasuke had been teaching him. The idea worked for him in a few ways, mainly because a busy day had kept him from dwelling on hurting Sasuke and he now had proper time to think it over, but also because without Sasuke here to distract him, he was more likely to be able to achieve that state of calm he needed.

But he shouldn't have bothered. He'd wanted to meditate on the Sasuke problem, but his swirling thoughts did nothing to relax him. So he soon gave up, propped his head in his hand and stared and the distant fields.

Clearly he'd hurt Sasuke's feelings, as strange as that seemed, but why? What was Sasuke being so touchy about? Alright, so they'd been talking about kissing and Naruto being uncomfortable about it because he knew now that Sasuke was real and not some dream, no consequences version of him. So did Sasuke think that Naruto didn't want the real thing? It seemed likely, but at the same time he had trouble believing that was all there was to it.

But he'd leave that for later, right now he had to decide whether there was something to the first part of it. Of course Naruto cared that it didn't just turn out to be make believe. He'd said things and done things to and with Sasuke that still brought a bright red glow to his face to think about. He'd never really had anyone to confide in before and it embarrassed him that his non-existent confidant had turned out to be not in his head, but a real live person. It was actually worse that it was Sasuke too, and not say, maybe Sakura, who was understanding and comforting and who wouldn't use past deeds against him for her own amusement. Of course he had to admit, he'd probably have never ended up in that predicament with Sakura in the first place.

But perhaps it was time to face the facts. He'd confessed his feelings to and then acted on them with Uchiha Sasuke who he cared about and obsessed over finding and now that it was done, albeit by Sasuke being a sneaky fuck and keeping his real existence to himself, he should deal with that and move on. He knew he had wanted everything that had happened before and that he'd wished so many times when he woke up to have that warm body beside him in his bed rather than just in his dreams. So why should he be complaining that he now had the opportunity to do so? His Sasuke, the ones from his dreams, was real and alive and out there in the real world somewhere. And there must be a part of Sasuke that wanted this too, otherwise he wouldn't be randomly kissing him or reminding him of things they'd done in the past like he missed it.

"I didn't know you could feel constipated in dreams, but you sure look that way now."

Naruto had been so wrapped up in himself he hadn't noticed Sasuke appear. The latecomer was watching his face with a blank look just out of Naruto's previously dazed line of sight. Naruto flinched a bit when he'd spoken.

"I didn't think you were coming," Naruto told him.

"I wasn't going to. I thought I was going to sleep normally, but apparently I'm too exhausted to stop it tonight."

Naruto doubted he was lying. And it kind of hurt that Sasuke had intended to stay away from him and had only shown up because he'd been unable to stop dreaming tonight. But really, Naruto been the one to do the hurting first, so he figured it was only fair.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto began, watching the other ninja sit down a few paces away, his back to Naruto like he could pretend the other person didn't exist if he couldn't see him.

"Shut up, I'm not in the mood."

Okay, so Sasuke's serenity had been pretty well demolished apparently. This was a lot more like his old self.

"You were testing me before by not telling me about the dreams back when we were in the caves, weren't you?" Naruto persisted, wanting to get this out in the open.

"Does it really matter?"

"Of course," Naruto responded obviously. "You wanted to know how much I cared about you without me worrying about embarrassing myself or over thinking things like I would if I knew you were really real."

"So?"

"So you can't be surprised that I'm embarrassed and over-thinking things now, right?"

He couldn't see Sasuke's face to know if he was getting annoyed but he could see Sasuke's fists clenched in the tufts of grass either side of him.

"I'm not surprised. I expected as much."

That hadn't really been the win Naruto was hoping for. Instead of an understanding tone, he'd gotten sullen resignation. Not really what he'd been aiming at. He should have known better because no matter how much he loved his friend, Sasuke had a bad trait - one among many others if he was going to be honest - of not being able to properly empathise with people. He was too drawn into himself to feel for anyone else around him.

"Don't say that like I let your expectations down!" Naruto spat back suddenly very angry at Sasuke's lack of insight.

"Not my realistic ones," Sasuke replied unperturbed by the outburst.

"Urgh! Teme, you're so wrapped up in yourself sometimes you don't see things properly. Do you honestly think I could have brought myself to fuck any version of you, real or not, if I didn't want the real thing in the first place?"

_This_ at least got Sasuke's attention. He looked over his shoulder at his red-faced friend like he couldn't quite believe what Naruto had said.

"It's not like I wanted to take you for a test spin just because you were there and there were no consequences," Naruto continued, "You make it sound like I would have jumped on anyone in those circumstances. But you said it yourself; you wanted to test whether I would want _you_, whether I really cared about _you._ So if it's okay with you, do you mind getting your head out of your own ass and stop acting like I just told you I hated you! I can't believe you could think that after everything I said to you back then."

Sasuke hadn't stopped staring at him over his shoulder and he didn't say anything either. Naruto expected Sasuke to snap back at him, tell him to get over himself or something. He sure didn't expect Sasuke's quiet reply.

"And this is why I didn't want you to over think things."

"Tell me I'm wrong!" Naruto challenged.

Sasuke turned back to face forward again. "Think whatever you want."

Sasuke was being a dick, but the tone of his voice suggested Naruto hadn't been wrong. Naruto suddenly felt a little elated by working it all out, but then a little more worried that it might mean that although he'd worked out Sasuke's problem, he still hadn't managed to resolve it. And that meant that Sasuke didn't believe what Naruto was telling him.

Naruto wanted to hit him. How could he forget everything Naruto had told him so soon? But then wasn't Naruto proving Sasuke's point by acting like their times in the cave disturbed him?

Well there was one sure way to prove Sasuke wrong there and as much as he wanted to one up the stupid bastard, it was a difficult thing to actually make himself do. Not because he didn't want to, but because he was still a bit embarrassed about it actually.

But he willed himself to do what he could. He crawled over to Sasuke's turned back and on his knees behind his friend, knowing that if he was wrong about this he was likely going to be hit again, he wrapped his arms loosely around Sasuke's neck and bent forward to prop his chin on Sasuke's shoulder. And surprisingly it didn't feel as awkward as he imagined it might. It felt good to be close to him again, just to feel connected to Sasuke once more.

Sasuke didn't move though and Naruto muttered, "Stubborn fucking bastard."

He could only see the side of Sasuke's face, but he caught the smile anyway. He certainly didn't miss Sasuke resting his hands on Naruto's arms, not pulling them away, just touching for the sake of touching.

"Good thing for you that I am. If I hadn't kept coming here all those nights since you started on the potions waiting to see if you'd come back you would have been here alone."

"You kept coming back in case I did too?" Naruto asked surprised. Previously Sasuke had told him he only came here because it was a pleasant, quiet dream, not because he'd been waiting.

"I knew you weren't cured of the dreams," Sasuke explained. "Because what was the point of me continuing to dream if you weren't here? I didn't want you to fuck up and hurt yourself again."

It shocked Naruto that he hadn't thought about that. Sasuke was as much a part of this as Naruto was. Whatever had been done had been done to them both for a reason. But whatever that reason was it was, still a mystery to him. Sakura had told him once that she thought the dreams had been a way for the two of them to say goodbye to each other. But who would place them under a genjutsu for a reason like that? Surely no one that wished them well would endanger their lives like this.

"Are you worried someone did this to us to hurt us?"

Sasuke shrugged as much as he could with Naruto half draped over him. "Not really."

"Why?"

"Because they obviously failed."

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: So could Sasuke be right and it wasn't worth worrying about because this time neither of them are particularly in danger of dying? Well basically at this point, who cares? Our boys are getting all cuddly again and that can only mean good things. I know the fighting and such was a little drawn out, but Naruto had a big shock to deal with to go from being in an intimate relationship with someone he thought wasn't real to knowing that Sasuke was real and remembered everything. I mean really, that's pretty embarrassing, so it just didn't seem to feel right to have him jump into Sasuke's arms and yell 'take me now you amazing bastard!' Would have been funny though<em>

_ So yay, as of last chapter Dreams Aren't Real has made it into the 100 plus reviews and big yay to Yamanvie who scored number 100! Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed this fic so far you help feed my addiction so I love you all. I know it might have been difficult for a lot of people to review last chapter because I replaced the preview with chapter 6 and you can't double review so hopefully this time there won't be that drama and I look forward to hearing from you all again :)_

_Dash_


	8. Dreams About Anything You Want

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 3 (8)**

**Dreams About Anything You Want.**

The night that they'd made up, they'd spent a few more moments in their little embrace before Sasuke had insisted they restart training again. Naruto wasn't offended in the least by this want to stop touching and get back to training because his recent insight into Sasuke revealed more to him than he'd thought it would. It wasn't because he liked bossing Naruto around, calling him a moron when he fucked up, or annoying him with distractions…well okay he liked all that too. But Naruto realised that on top of Sasuke's general jerk behaviour, he was really doing all this to help him. He didn't want Naruto to get sick again and he wanted them to be able to spend more time in the dreams together.

So Naruto took it as a good sign when Sasuke wanted to get back to work and had made good progress because his mind was a little clearer after finally being able to talk some things through with Sasuke.

He was making such good progress with relaxing his mind that by the end of that night, he no longer needed to be sitting still and concentrating to keep one small part of his mind calm, but could keep it in the back of his mind most of the time. He noticed the difference it made to his general well being when he woke up that morning, feeling a lot more refreshed than he usually did after such a dream and smiled at his small victory over the genjutsu.

This was more like it!

Of course it was good news that he was getting more of a handle on things now, but it made him wonder why he was really going through all of this. The obvious answer was so that he wouldn't get sick again while he dreamt, but then he could just take the potions for that. And at least taking potions meant he wasn't continually going into a genjutsu every night, probably created by someone who wanted to do him and Sasuke some real harm. Yet the dream held the appeal of spending time with Sasuke which he supposed was the ultimate reason he was going through it. But there was a simpler way to go about that, if only he could get Sasuke to agree to it.

That night Naruto pleaded a night off training. It wasn't like he couldn't talk to Sasuke while they were training, but he wanted a time out. Mastering chakra flow techniques and genjutsu was difficult for him and it often gave him headaches through the day doing this all night.

Sasuke simply shrugged, surprising Naruto by accepting that he needed a night off, and lay down in the grass in the sun as though he felt like he needed a break as well.

Naruto sat down beside him, faced him and watched him relax with his eyes closed, thinking about how to broach the subject in just the right way to negate Sasuke getting pissed again.

"It's rude to stare," Sasuke told him without opening his eyes, like he could feel Naruto's gaze on his face.

"Did you ever think that maybe the reason the dream is still here is because you kept coming back?"

Sasuke didn't react which gave Naruto the impression that yes, Sasuke had thought about that.

"Did you think about leaving it alone for a while to see if they stopped without both of us in the dream?" Naruto persisted.

"I did. I stopped for a week and it was still here when I came back."

"A week's not real long," Naruto pointed out carefully.

Sasuke cracked open a single eye and managed to achieve a one eyed glare. "Just what are you accusing me of?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm not accusing you of anything. But was there a part of you that maybe didn't want the dreams to end?"

Despite still looking a little angry by the direction of the conversation Sasuke replied, "Yeah, I guess there was. I like it here, it's simple and calming. And I thought you might come back, I told you this already."

"I know. But face it Sasuke, this isn't our own little private world of happy fun times. Someone did this to us, I really believe that. I just don't know how safe it might be here for us when whoever did this realises their genjutsu isn't doing what it was supposed to do."

Sasuke sat up suddenly, and not looking at Naruto, held out his hand toward a patch of ground about five metres away. He sat perfectly still for a long time, a look of fierce concentration on his face. And just when Naruto started to wonder just what the hell Sasuke was doing, the ground Sasuke was aiming at broke. Naruto watched wide-eyed as a tree grew out of the ground in fast motion. It grew from a seedling up to a twenty metre tall tree in front of his very eyes. The process had taken all of five minutes and Naruto was stunned. He knew Sasuke could manipulate the environment, but he hadn't known just how much before now.

"I know what I am doing," Sasuke told him, lowering his hand and looking back at Naruto. "I have full control and nothing will hurt us."

Bold statement considering this whole dream wasn't Sasuke's creation no matter how much he could manipulate their surroundings now. Naruto was pretty impressed though.

"Wow," he breathed.

Sasuke smirked and lay back down. After a few moments he patted the grass beside him and Naruto lay next to him, shoulder to shoulder and enjoying the slight contact.

"You know there's an easier way," Naruto continued after a moment. Impressed or not, cosy or not, it would bug him if he didn't at least put the suggestion out there. "We could both take the potions. It might end the dream altogether."

"You don't like it here?" Sasuke asked in an oddly flat voice.

"Don't think that I don't like hanging out with you," Naruto went on as though predicting where Sasuke's thoughts were taking him. "But you know, we have real bodies in the real world. We could meet, you know, in the flesh."

"I like your flesh here," Sasuke stated dismissively. "The real world is…complicated."

"It doesn't have to be," Naruto told him.

"Not everything can be solved with blind optimism," Sasuke told him. "Just be content with what you have."

"What, a dream version of you in a world I'm not sure is safe to be in?"

"We've been over this. I'm as real as you are."

"But we're not really here together are we? If I could have you in the real world I wouldn't need the dream world."

"You don't really _have_ me in the dream world anyway," Sasuke replied and Naruto could definitely hear the smirk in his voice.

"You're so perverted, I didn't mean it like that!"

Sasuke rolled over and leaned over Naruto, bracing himself up with his hands. "So tell me, just what would you do if we met up in real life after all of this? Because considering how embarrassed you were when you found out I was real after all, I doubt very much you could even look me in the eye on the outside anymore. Out there we fight, in here we can talk and relax. So just what is in this for me?"

Naruto looked up into the dark eyes above him and although Sasuke's tone was most definitely teasing, his eyes seemed to searching Naruto's own for a real answer to that question. In the real world Sasuke was so lost, so angry, so burdened. It was hard to suggest anything he could have that would be better than what he had here.

The thought made Naruto so sad that he reached up and slid his fingers across Sasuke's cheek and whisper, "Anything you want."

Sasuke kissed him then. And what was strange was that Naruto expected him to. Predicting Sasuke's behaviour was impossible at the best of times, but all Naruto had to think about was what he most wanted in this moment and Sasuke had gone ahead and done it.

In a far away corner of his mind, Naruto realised that Sasuke hadn't answered his question. He also realised that Sasuke had probably never intended to. But instead of starting an argument, Naruto didn't feel like pushing it at the moment. Sasuke's lips were moving languidly against his, he could feel Sasuke's warm body pressed up against him, and he was enjoying the feel of Sasuke's skin as he ran his hands up Sasuke's sides before curling them around the back of his neck.

They hadn't kissed like this in a long time and Naruto had to wonder why he'd been so embarrassed about it. It had felt right the first time and now that he knew it was really Sasuke, the feeling hadn't changed. Actually now he was feeling that rightness a lot more acutely than before.

Sasuke might have manipulated the situation a little the first time around, but only to assure himself of how much Naruto really cared about him, so it was impossible to be angry at him about it. Especially when he felt one of Sasuke's hands slip beneath the fabric of his pants.

He wondered if Sasuke would feel the same in the real world. Would his skin feel the same, would he taste the same, smell the same or would it be different? Would it be better?

The he stopped thinking entirely as he felt Sasuke curl his fingers around his hardness making his breath hitch and Sasuke to smile into the kiss.

"At the moment I think I have what I want."

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up the next morning feeling groggy and let's face it, a little bit sticky.<p>

"Gross."

The stickiness was the least of his worries though and it was more the tiredness that really worried him. It would seem that he could keep part of his mind calm and focussed up until the point Sasuke stuck his tongue down his throat. Among other things.

Well it certainly seemed as though sex was a sure-fire way to break his calm which didn't bode well for future encounters. Of course that's if he bothered mentioning this little fact to Sasuke.

But after a few moments of staring at his ceiling he knew he should mention it. If he didn't, he'd slip back into old bad habits and he knew he'd have to tell Sasuke tonight while his brain was still thinking clearly enough to know it was a good idea. Besides, he doubted that meant their relationship would change all that much. Last night had been a bit special. Last night they'd made up for a lot of lost time. He doubted there were going to be too many more all night fuck sessions in store for him if Sasuke insisted they got back to training anyway.

One moment he was opening his eyes out onto the lush field of green grass and red flowers and the next he was grabbed, had his back pushed up against the newly formed tree and had a tongue invade his mouth.

Naruto moaned, he couldn't help it. What a way to begin your dream, with your hands pinned against rough tree bark, a persistent and unrelenting tongue down your throat, a warm body pressed up against you, sliding against you, and making you go from sleepy to horny in about two seconds flat. It would have taken his breath away if Sasuke hadn't forcefully managed it first.

So perhaps thinking Sasuke would want to get back to training had been a little, well, optimistic wasn't really the right word since this wasn't exactly a bad thing that was happening now, far from it. But he sure hadn't expected to pick up just where they'd left off last night either.

Sasuke released his mouth so he could trail his lips over his jaw and down his neck and Naruto figured he'd have to speak now or he wouldn't have the willpower to later. Actually with what Sasuke was doing he didn't really have a lot of willpower now.

"Ah, Sasuke," he began. He'd meant his voice to sound like he was trying to interrupt what Sasuke was doing, but it came out as a breathy sort of sigh which Sasuke obviously took to be a sign of encouragement rather than a call to attention. Sasuke ground his hips against him and Naruto decided their little talk could wait till later after all.

* * *

><p>He knew these dreams weren't normal, but why the hell did he have to feel sweaty in them? In the caves it hadn't been so bad because it had been so cold being able to warm up had been a relief and although it wasn't exactly hot here, the sun was warm and after the exercise, his skin felt sweaty and hot. He lay down underneath Sasuke's new tree and let the cool breeze waft over his skin and closed his eyes. He knew that if he didn't find that little bit of calm in his head his body would feel terrible tomorrow.<p>

Sasuke sat next to him, back against the tree, eyes closed apparently doing the same thing. The only contact between them was Naruto's arm slung over his leg and Sasuke's hand resting on top of that. Sasuke's skin felt hot and damp under his arm as well, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. He couldn't imagine liking the feel of the sweaty skin of anyone else he knew. But there was just something about Sasuke that made Naruto believe he could lick every inch of his skin and revel in the taste even when he was covered in sweat.

Naruto screwed up his nose and wondered what the fuck was wrong with him.

"I can't keep my focus here when we do this," Naruto said wanting to stop his mind from wandering too much.

"Me neither," Sasuke admitted. "I don't fail as badly as you, but it is difficult to remain composed when your legs are wrapped around me and you're moaning my name."

Naruto felt his blush fire up in force and he squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

"You don't need to say things like that, I was there you know."

"Well I'm glad we've established that it was you after all."

"Teme!"

"But I'm hoping that eventually you'll get used to it and get over your embarrassment sooner this way. Don't get me wrong, I like when you blush so much even your ears go red, but I get the impression you still hold back a bit from me and it's annoying."

"Hold back?" Naruto asked, his eyes snapping open in surprise to see Sasuke gazing down at him. "I just let you fuck me up against a tree and you think I'm holding back?"

Naruto had expected him to smile at the reminder but Sasuke's expression didn't change. "I know that happened because you 'let me'. But I don't like that you think that way. You aren't supposed to 'let me' you're supposed to want it to."

"Of course I do! I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to!"

"Not like before."

Naruto frowned for a moment not really understanding what Sasuke was getting at, at first. Then he got up onto his knees and straddled Sasuke's legs just like he had in the cave that first time and eased himself into his lap. It was a bold move for him, but considering what they'd been doing these past two nights, he wasn't about to feel awkward about it now.

"For someone who is so monumentally self assured normally, you have a lot insecurity when it comes to real feelings."

Sasuke had looked shocked, but pleased when Naruto had sat on him, but after hearing what Naruto had to say, he didn't look half as happy.

"Bite me, dobe."

So Naruto did. He had expressed a desire to taste every inch of Sasuke before so it wasn't much to lean in and bite down on Sasuke's neck. His skin was still warm and tasted mildly salty from sweat, but Naruto licked, sucked and bit all the way up that pale smooth neck till he found Sasuke's lips. He sucked in Sasuke's bottom lip, biting it a little before letting it go and plunging his tongue into that inviting mouth.

Sasuke grabbed a hold of his hips, his fingers digging in almost painfully, but not encouraging Naruto to move against him or really do anything other than what he was doing right now. Usually by this point Sasuke, control freak, would have taken over and Naruto would be minutes away from feeling Sasuke inside him. So he drew back a little in concern to meet dark eyes looking back at him silently, aroused most definitely, but something else in there too. He didn't look scared exactly, but perhaps a little overwhelmed.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you really care about me?"

"Of course I do. Haven't we talked about this before?"

Apparently Naruto's brief show of willingness had done a lot more to ease Sasuke's insecurities than he imagined it would. You could tell Sasuke something, but there was always a little part of him that never believed it until you proved to him that you meant it. He was like that with everything even when it came to fighting. But this time he really looked like he wanted to believe it. However, there was that underlying neurosis with trust that Sasuke always, probably very rightly, had that prevented him from accepting people at their word alone.

"Paranoid fuck," Naruto accused seeing the look. He was beginning to get really good at figuring Sasuke out despite how many times Sasuke liked to call him stupid. "What will it take for you to believe me?"

"I believe you," Sasuke said, still unsmiling. "Doesn't mean I want to though."

"Complications huh? Isn't this what you wanted though?"

"Since when do I ever get what I want?"

"Well I'm sitting on your lap after already having sex with you once, telling you I care about you. I could put a ring on your finger, but I think that already happened earlier and I-"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and unceremoniously dumped Naruto off his lap by toppling him sideways. Naruto fell onto the ground grinning and noticed that Sasuke was smiling faintly at the joke too.

"Ah ha! Got you to smile! You know I'm telling you the truth. For just once will you accept that something has happened to you that doesn't suck so badly?"

"I'll see how well you suck later. Right now we ought to get back to training. You can't rest properly if we spent another night like last night here."

It was weird for Sasuke to suggest training over sex, but he knew Naruto couldn't concentrate if that's all they did and Naruto appreciated him taking the temptation away for now.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was weird in a lot of ways. It was almost like he set himself up to fail on purpose just to prove a point sometimes. He'd doggedly pursued their previous intimate relationship with each other only to get cold feet as soon as physical became not enough and he started to wonder what his friend's motives behind it really were. It was like he had failed at failing to get Naruto back only to set along a path of failing to prove that Naruto was only doing it because that's what Sasuke wanted him to do. It was a good way to sum Sasuke up pretty well, that he failed at failing.<p>

But Naruto had managed to prove to him that everything that had happened to them before in the caves, on the beach and in the forest had not been a result of Naruto wanting some insubstantial version of him rather than the real thing, that he cared about him and meant what he said, repeatedly, and Naruto was feeling very pleased with himself. Sasuke seemed in a better mood too and the rest of the night they spent training Naruto's brain to wake himself up on command.

Time and time again though, Naruto couldn't do it. This was further into genjutsu territory than anything previous and Naruto just couldn't wrap his head around it.

But instead of calling him a moron and telling him how badly he was doing, Sasuke, while still enjoying feeling superior and smiling at Naruto's lack of skill occasionally, was being a lot more patient than usual with him.

After a few thoughtful moments regarding his hopeless student, Sasuke ordered him to stand up and close his eyes. Naruto did so while Sasuke walked slowly around him as though he could see an answer to the problem the more he gazed at him.

"I've been advising you to disrupt your chakra like you would in a genjutsu, but you don't know how to do that. Well, that's not true, you do, you just don't realise that you do."

He felt Sasuke move up behind him and felt Sasuke reach around to trail feather light touches with his fingers down Naruto's belly. Naruto's breath hitched a little at the touch and he squeezed his eyes closed.

"Stop that," Sasuke reprimanded him softly into his ear. "You're resisting."

"You surprised me teme, you know what happens when I get surprised I…"

Naruto's eyes flew open in realisation just as Sasuke said, "Exactly. You may be the only ninja in history to use shock to break out of a genjutsu, but if it works it works."

Naruto was elated for about five seconds before he realised something important. "That's not as easy as it sounds," Naruto told him. "Sure it might work every time that I fall off something or the first few times that you touched me, but that doesn't work anymore and I don't think there's going to be a handy ledge to fall off every time I want to wake up."

"The why isn't important, it's the how. I want you to try and remember that feeling you had just before you woke up, that split second of shock. I want you to feel it again without the outside stimulus to help you achieve it. That way you can jolt yourself awake on your own, whenever you need to."

It might sound easy when Sasuke said it, but Naruto had his doubts. Especially because Sasuke was a comforting presence pressed up against his back, hand now pressed against Naruto's belly, thumb stroking lazily against the waistband of his pants and was sucking on his earlobe.

"Sasuke, you want me to shock myself awake or do you want to make me horny?"

Sasuke chuckled and stepped back. "Sorry." He didn't sound like he meant it.

But now with distractions out of the way, Naruto remembered back to all those little times when he'd been forced awake previously. Considering most of those were because Sasuke had touched him, it didn't help his level of focus much. So instead he tried to remember the feeling of falling. That unpleasant sensation of having nothing solid around you while gravity grabbed you harshly and pulled you down against your will, and just before you hit the ground, that inevitable impact and heart stopping moment when you…

Naruto's eyes flew open in his dark room in Konoha. After a few moments he made himself breathe again before grinning widely.

He'd done it! It had been easy once he had the secret.

The side effect now was that he was too excited to get back to sleep. So he sat up and gazed out of the window to look at the surrounding buildings lit up by dim moonlight. The sight always used to sooth him in the past. But doing so now wasn't really helping. His heart had slowed again after the rush of adrenaline and he was definitely feeling sleepy again after spending half of tonight and all of last night, ah, not concentrating properly, but something was obviously still bothering him.

It had been so easy to pull that off, too easy really. He _never _picked things up so easily and here Sasuke had managed to teach him something Jiraiya, a master ninja, had not been able to teach him with any great success in two years of intense training. Sasuke had done it in one night just by figuring him out.

Naruto was impressed. He wondered how easy training over the past few years might have been if Sasuke was still around to help him and encourage him. And it depressed him more than a little that he would never know the answer to that question.

He knew now what was really bothering him. He'd gone from happy sunlit field and being held by someone he loved, to waking up in the cold darkness of his own bedroom where he was alone once more. It might have had something to do with being a little overtired right now, but he wondered if that's why he'd hated to wake up before when things had gone so wrong. He felt so secure and relaxed with Sasuke, his near constant dream companion versus a world of relative loneliness, hardship and hate. No wonder he'd never wanted to leave the dream before. And no wonder Sasuke had kept coming back to it as well.

He wasn't so naive this time though, he knew the dreams were bad for him, no matter how much training he did to alleviate the danger. There was a middle ground here that Sasuke refused to explore with him, but Naruto was adamant this time, Sasuke wasn't going to distract him, he wasn't going to talk his way around it, Naruto needed to confront him for both their sakes.

Naruto eventually got back into the dream, but it was early morning when he managed it and he knew he wouldn't have long before he'd have to leave again.

Sasuke was still here though, leaning up against the tree, and he even grinned when he saw him. Naruto almost lost his nerve right then about confronting him, not wanting Sasuke to lose those easy smiles he'd managed to cultivate from the normally so emotionless face.

But he took a deep breath and walked over to Sasuke, intent to first revel in his accomplishment then having a pointed talk with his teacher.

But it was like Sasuke knew how best to test his resolve by being like a normal happy person. He actually hugged him. Sasuke didn't hug. The closest Sasuke got to hugging was when they were pressed up against each other and naked. But Sasuke seemed proud of him, and relieved too, now that Naruto had mastered the two most important lessons for keeping his dream self out of trouble. Sasuke did slightly ruin the happy moment hug though by smacking the back of his head after releasing him.

"You kept me waiting long enough, dobe."

Okay good, Sasuke being a jerk was easier to pick a fight with anyway. Well there was no use working up to it, he might as well blurt it out before he lost his nerve.

"You don't want to return to the village yet, fine. But I want to see you. Not here, in the real world."

The smile dripped off Sasuke's face to be replaced by a frown. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said no."

He'd expected obstinate refusal, but it still made him angry anyway.

"And just because you say no, I don't get a say?"

"That's right."

"That's not fair!"

"What brought all this on anyway?"

"You know I've been trying to talk to you about this for a while, it's not a sudden thing no matter how much you try and ignore it! Sasuke I want to see the real you."

"You are seeing the real me."

"Yeah I get it, you can be yourself here more than you can out there. I get the difference being in here makes, but we can fix that, that's what you don't understand. You've done so much you think you can never go back, but you can. I want to help you!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and turned his head away. "Moron, it doesn't work like that."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's chin and forced him to look back at him. "Make believe shouldn't be enough for you. You wanted me to be here with you because I wanted to be, now I want to be out there with you and you say no like it would be so strange."

"I'm not the same out there. You know that."

"You're talking like you're two different people, you aren't, you're only pretending to be. I'm not talking about coming back to the village or facing the world's evils together, I'm just talking about seeing each other in real life. How can that be so hard?"

Sasuke stepped back to dislodge Naruto's hold on him. "It is. It's not happening so you'd better accept that."

It was like throwing feathers at a brick wall hoping to topple it over. It was infuriating! Naruto glared at Sasuke for a long time before realising something very important.

Sasuke had been so fixated on finding out how Naruto felt about him, it hadn't occurred once to Naruto to find out how exactly Sasuke felt about him. He got hints that he cared, a lot of hints really, but nothing had been flat out said to make him believe Sasuke loved him back.

Naruto woke up suddenly in the morning light. He turned over in bed to stare out the window and just lay there for a while. Here he was, tired, cold and alone. Again. It was a feeling he figured he'd never get used to.

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Soooo, Sasuke, obstinate bastard, is dead set against meeting up in the real world. Poor Naruto. I think they're arguing as much as fucking at the moment but I always like that sort of dynamic so it makes sense to me. But you have to wonder how many times Sasuke will have to say no before Naruto gets sick of it and leaves him altogether. Hmmm, I wonder.<em>

_Oh and just wondering…I had two good opportunities to include some smut scenes here but I figure than when it gets to this point, unless something special is going to happen within the scene that it tends to flow better without it. But I wonder if I am in the minority here with this…But don't worry this doesn't mean the fic will be smut free either :)_


	9. Dreams About Nightmares in the Mist

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 4 (9)**

**Dreams About Nightmares in the Mist**

Well, this was different.

Naruto had popped in to find Sasuke waiting for him, but it looked as though Sasuke hadn't been here for much longer. He was looking around himself with a calm though not completely unruffled expression on his face. Naruto was a little more open with his expression, turning in circles with wide eyes.

Just where the fuck were they now?

This was the first time the scenery had changed in a long time. In the past it had only changed after something…different happened between the pair of them.

But they had never ended up in a place like this before. The forest had been beautiful and full of wonder. The beach had been relaxing and amazing. The caves had been kind of dank and cold, but the view of the mountains had been breathtaking and the cave interior with the fire and the cuddling had sure turned out to be cosy. The field they had just left had been free and vast. But this, Naruto could not pick one nice and comforting thing about this place.

They were in a woods and it was very dark. A strange kind of moonlit glow filtered down through the trees, brighter than general moonlight, but still making their surroundings look dismally dark and bleak. None of the trees had any leaves and looked almost dead and skeletal and a strange mist surrounded them hiding the ground, their feet, and most of the lower half of their legs.

Naruto started to wonder what they fuck they'd done to earn an environment like this.

"Do you think we're being punished or something?" Naruto asked Sasuke, wincing at the loudness of his own voice.

"Don't be an idiot," Sasuke told him. Naruto noticed that despite what he'd just said, he kept his voice pitched low.

"C'mon Sasuke, this is bizarre. I start to get a hold of things, and then what…?"

"We fought," Sasuke told him.

Naruto hadn't forgotten that part for obvious reasons. The fight about meeting up in the real world had caused them both to get angry and start yelling at each other.

"See, maybe they are punishing us?"

"Whose 'they' dobe? You're making it sound like some great conspiracy."

"Sasuke, _someone_ did this to us. You say it wasn't you, then who else would have the power for such a powerful genjutsu? Someone with a lot of juice went to a lot of effort to trap us together in dream world, there had to be a reason for that."

"Of course there is," Sasuke returned dismissively. "They tried to kill us. Except killing me with a genjutsu is ridiculous, but they almost managed to kill you."

"What if killing me hadn't been the master plan? What if it had been an unforeseen side affect?"

"You're making this into a bigger issue than it really is."

"Face it Sasuke, someone did this to us and now it's like we're being punished."

"Alright fine, assume someone did this on purpose and this is...what, punishment for fighting? That means that whoever did this, wanted us to get along. Who the fuck would care about that?"

"Well, I do," Naruto replied sullenly, not liking Sasuke wrecking his theory.

"Well did _you_ do this?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Of course not."

"Then I guess that theory is a bust then."

Naruto took a moment to look around the dismal setting. The forest was really giving him the creeps. It looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Well maybe we should give up the dream for a little while till we work things out."

"No," Sasuke returned swiftly.

"Look I know these dreams are some sort of vacation from your life for you, but you can't seriously want to stay here."

"I'm not stopping," Sasuke replied stubbornly.

"Fine. You can stay here by yourself then."

"No."

Naruto stopped himself from stamping his foot in irritation. Sasuke was acting like such a petulant child it was starting to rub off on him.

"What fucking difference does it make if I'm here or not?"

Sasuke glared at him. "So what if I use this as some kind of escape from life? But we're in this together."

For some reason that comment made Naruto extremely angry. "Are you kidding me? Are you seriously going to try the stick together, one for all shit with me?"

Sasuke must have realized the irony of his statement and didn't comment for a while. He just scowled at Naruto for a good few moments.

"We might not act together in life," Sasuke said eventually, "but we can here. Isn't that what you want?"

"No! I want us to stick together in real life, more than just in dreams. Dreams aren't real Sasuke, no matter how realistic this one turned out to be, it still isn't real life. You don't even want to meet up for five minutes in the real world so what makes you think you can make me stay in these creepy ass woods with you now?"

"Not this again," Sasuke muttered turning away.

"Fine, give me one good reason to stay here. And not just because you say we should," Naruto added forestalling Sasuke as he went to say exactly that.

"You'll stay," Sasuke told him instead. "Because you will see me any way that you can. Because you care, because you believe we're best friends, and because you love me."

"What?" Naruto spat out incredulously. Sasuke had almost convinced him before that last part. "Get over yourself."

"Fine you can leave now if you want, but you'll be back. I know you will."

For the first time ever, Naruto used his new dream powers and woke himself up before he gave into temptation and punched Sasuke in the jaw.

* * *

><p>He'd wanted to stay away for longer, but after a quick mission to a neighbouring village, all he could think of doing when he got back was to find Sasuke again. He wasn't sure if it was because he missed him or because he wanted another chance to yell at him some more, but he did know he was a little worried about him. Those woods had been really horrible, the stuff of nightmares and Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn't stay away from it just because of that. Even the creepy woods had to be more relaxing for him than Sasuke's real life.<p>

But it was an unfounded worry really, so far nothing in their dreams had ever tried to harm them, except of course each other, Sasuke was probably fine and the way he could manipulate the dreams now, no doubt he had also made it a little more cosy to be in.

So even though tonight was technically supposed to be a 'potions' night, Naruto let his guard down and re-entered the dream.

When he arrived there was no sign of Sasuke. Odd, but not totally uncommon. The view didn't look any better, the woods were still creepy and the environment was still a little cold. Naruto rubbed his bare arms to try and stop the goose bumps creeping over his skin and waited patiently for Sasuke to show up.

After a few moments passed without any sign of Sasuke, Naruto figured he might as well do some exploring. He stared out in between the trees for a while without moving though, wondering if that was such a hot idea. He wouldn't admit it to Sasuke, but he was a little scared about their new surroundings and he wasn't as eager to explore as he had been in their previous settings.

Eventually he made himself move. He didn't get very far though before he tripped on a tree root and went sprawling. So much for cat like ninja reflexes. He ended up on his hands and knees in the thick carpet of dead, damp leaves underneath the rolling mist. From down on the ground he couldn't see anything and got back to his feet quickly, brushing his hands on his pants trying to dry them. His hands felt a little tacky though, and when he looked down at them and his pants he saw his pants were now streaked bright red from the blood covering his hands.

"Holy fuck!"

Naruto stared at his hands for a while longer before casting his eyes hurriedly around him.

"Sasuke!"

He had the sickest feeling all of a sudden. There didn't seem to be any other animals here, so where had the blood come from?

"Sasuke!"

In the far distance, Naruto heard a loud roar and before he knew what he was doing, he set off toward the noise at the quickest pace he could manage without falling again.

_Good plan Naruto, run _toward_ the monster roaring in the creepy woods_.

He knew why he'd instinctively run that way though, he thought Sasuke was in trouble. The blood had to come from somewhere and either it came from the thing that had just roared or it came from Sasuke.

He didn't know which, and that uncertain panic made him run toward the danger before he'd formed a real thought about it. They'd never really conclusively tested the theory of whether dying in the dream meant they'd wake up or die in the real world. But Naruto knew you could feel pain without waking. They'd tested that particular theory in a multitude of interesting and/or violent ways. But still, Sasuke could wake himself up whenever he wanted right? Right?

Naruto kept running.

He heard the roar again, much closer now which made Naruto pull up suddenly and remind himself not to be so rash. It wasn't easy for him to do. He wasn't the cautious type and he was almost out of his mind with worry for Sasuke. But thinking of Sasuke reminded him of the lessons Sasuke had been drilling into him about patience and focus, and at a time like this it was all he could force himself to rely on.

So he crept forward now, eyes toward where the sound had come from. But the trees, such as they were, were packed tightly together here and Naruto couldn't see through them till he got closer. Eventually he made it just beyond the spot where he thought the roar had come from and peered in between the trees. Through the bad lighting and the mist he could make out a figure that looked to be strung up to one of the trees, arms stretched up above his head, feet barely able to touch the ground to hold himself up and his head slumped forward so all Naruto could see was a mop of black hair falling forward.

He knew it was Sasuke as soon as he saw him and Naruto's muscles were twitching with the force it took to hold himself back from just running up to him and helping. But he hadn't seen who or what had done this yet and was nervous about where it might be hiding. The area around Sasuke's tree looked clear of danger, but Sasuke himself didn't look to be in the best shape. Even from here Naruto could see dark marks criss-crossing his bare chest where it looked like he'd been slashed or whipped. So that explained the blood at least, it had probably been Sasuke's after all.

But why hadn't Sasuke just escaped the dream? Naruto had managed it after only fifteen minutes of being here the first time, and Sasuke was the one that had taught him the trick in the first place. So if something had attacked him and hurt him, he should have just woken himself up, no harm, no foul. Sure, Sasuke's stubbornness to not give up on a fight might have stopped him from leaving right away, but why would he let himself be tied up and hurt even more if it was obvious he'd lost the battle?

The fact that Sasuke was still here worried Naruto more than anything. More than possibly having something roaming around in this dream that might want to hurt them. Because it meant that Sasuke had been unable to escape. And if Sasuke couldn't pull off any of his little tricks here, how could Naruto hope to do so?

He spent an impatient few moments circling around to the tree Sasuke was tied to, watching out for the enemy movement. Nothing showed itself and he couldn't hear anything, so he hunkered down into the mist and crawled around till he was next to Sasuke's legs. Before touching him and possibly spooking him and receiving a kick to the face, Naruto whispered, "Where is it?"

Sasuke didn't react to Naruto's voice except for a slight expiration of breath that at first made Naruto think Sasuke hadn't heard him.

"Where have you been?" Sasuke whispered back.

Naruto ran his hands over Sasuke's ankles till he found the rope binding them together and carefully began to cut.

"On a mission. And pissed off with you."

"It left. I don't know why. Maybe it heard you coming."

Sasuke didn't need to say what he was thinking because Naruto was pretty much thinking the same thing. It hadn't left because it was scared of Naruto, it left so it could set up an ambush for him.

That meant that when he revealed himself he'd have to swiftly cut Sasuke free before the trap was sprung and they'd have to get out of here. And if Sasuke couldn't wake himself up, that meant they'd have to run. And considering the condition Sasuke was in, that might be harder than it sounded.

He finished with Sasuke's legs and looked up at him.

"You ready?" he asked Sasuke quietly.

"Yes, do it."

Naruto stood up quickly and stretched up to cut the rope tying Sasuke to the tree. His hands would still be bound together but at least he would be free to run.

As soon as Naruto appeared though, he heard a snarl from across the clearing and twigs snapping and breaking as whatever it was started running towards them. He didn't look around though until Sasuke was free, and even then when he went to face their attacker, Sasuke grabbed his arm and started tugging him around.

"Don't stop, just run idiot!"

Naruto obeyed immediately for probably the first time in his life and the pair raced off in the opposite direction. They heard the thing crashing through the brush after them, but it was obviously a little bit slower than the pair and once Sasuke figured they were out of sight, he jumped up into a tree and flattened himself against the trunk. Naruto did the same to the tree opposite and sure enough, the thing ran right past them and continued crashing through the woods and off into the distance until the pair couldn't hear it anymore. Naruto jumped across to the branch where Sasuke was now slumped and took his hands to finish cutting the rest of the bonds from Sasuke's wrists. It was made difficult because Sasuke was actually shaking.

"What was that thing?" Naruto asked him. "I didn't see much just a black sort of shadow with red eyes and then we were running.

Sasuke didn't respond. He just watched Naruto work with a blank stare and even continued to watch Naruto's hands grip his wrists even after he was done. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's chin and forced his friend to look at his face.

Seeing Sasuke afraid was not something Naruto had seen a lot in his life, but that was exactly what he was seeing now. It was actually the scariest thing he'd seen tonight.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke seemed to snap out of it then and met Naruto's eyes. "I don't know. Sometimes it's a man, sometimes it's…look," Sasuke began again shaking off Naruto's grip on him and getting a hold of himself. "It seems to be whatever the hell it wants to be. One minute it scratched me up with giant claws, the next it was tying me to the tree and it looked like it was the shape of a man."

Well obviously nightmare monsters didn't have to fit in with any normal being and the fact that the shadow monster could be whatever it wanted to be creeped him our more than a little.

"Why didn't you just leave?" Naruto asked him.

Sasuke looked annoyed for a moment. "Because I couldn't. It just told me that 'my little tricks wouldn't work here anymore' and that I'd have to wait for you to come back to help me."

Well that explained why Sasuke was annoyed now, and why he'd looked so scared a moment ago. The shadow monster was scary stuff sure, but it would have scared Sasuke more to realize he was powerless and had to rely on someone else. Sasuke never liked to rely on other people, people generally let him down. He would have felt impotent and alone and that would have scared the shit out of him. But he was also annoyed to be admitting it to Naruto that he'd needed help.

"But I made myself wake up before, why can't you?"

"I don't know! Maybe I'm being blocked or something."

Naruto just had a very bad thought. "Wait, have you woken up at all since we first came here?"

It took a few moments, but eventually Sasuke shook his head. "No."

"Sasuke that was over a day ago! Can't you even wake up naturally?"

"One day?" Sasuke asked like it surprised him. "It felt longer, but I thought I was imagining it. I haven't woken up, not by force or anything else."

This was bad. If Sasuke couldn't control his chakra from this new dream, his body would be suffering just like Naruto's had the first time. And so many hours in a row! Naruto had never spent so long without a break in the dreams. The only time he'd come close, he'd ended up in the hospital afterwards.

"Sasuke, you could be dying," Naruto whispered.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Sasuke snapped at him. "I might already be dead and now I'm trapped here or something."

"I don't think so," Naruto said after a moment of unthinking panic had passed. "When I cracked my head open I eventually disappeared from the dream. You're still alive, but I don't know for how long."

"Fucking perfect," Sasuke muttered.

"Look, let me see if I can wake myself up and then I'll come back and we'll figure out what to do."

Sasuke grabbed his arm to stop him. "Wait, not yet. What if you can't come back? We should make a plan now."

Naruto didn't think that was going to be a problem. He figured the trick would be getting out when Sasuke couldn't, not being able to get back in. But after a few moments of quiet confusion Naruto realized Sasuke wasn't really worried about that. He was worried of being left alone again, but didn't want to show it.

"Okay, but let's find somewhere a little more comfortable and hidden first."

They found a dead tree with a hollowed out trunk large enough to accommodate them both not far from where they were sitting. It was very dark inside though, and Naruto had hoped to be able to look over Sasuke's wounds a little more. But when he voiced the concern Sasuke just scoffed at him.

"I think we have more to worry about than a few cuts and bruises."

Naruto just shrugged. Sasuke must have been in pain, but there was nothing they could really do about it anyway and it was doubtful he'd have to worry about infection. Besides, the blood seemed to have stopped and he said he felt a little better anyway.

There wasn't quite enough room in the trunk to stand so Naruto sat down with his back against the tree's interior and tried to relax himself just like Sasuke had taught him. They didn't need both of them to get sick at this point.

Sasuke couldn't really see either apparently and in an attempt to find his own spot to sit he almost accidentally sat on Naruto's leg. Realizing his mistake he went to move to the side, but Naruto had a better idea and grabbed him to drag him down to sit in between his legs instead, arms tightly wrapped around Sasuke's waist.

"What are you-?" Sasuke protested but for once Naruto wasn't in the mood to listen to him complain.

He'd been crazy with worry over Sasuke and now that he had him close enough to hold and touch, he needed to feel him as near as possible.

"Shut up, teme and fucking relax."

It took a few minutes, but eventually Sasuke did relax back against Naruto, the warmth of his back pressed up against Naruto's chest. Naruto let out a deep contented sigh and rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You're being creepy, dobe," Sasuke informed him.

"This whole place is fucking creepy. So how come nobody has woken you up yet?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"Nobody knows where I am," Sasuke admitted. "I wanted somewhere private to sleep where no one would bother me."

Naruto could understand. Since they'd become chummy again, Naruto had woken up a few mornings a little sticky and sweaty. Not cool if someone were to find you that way in the morning.

"Where?"

"Are we really talking about that now?" Sasuke asked with annoyance.

"Sasuke, this isn't about wanting to see you in the real world anymore. This is about waking you up before you die!"

"Pretty convenient isn't it?"

"Oh for fuck's sake Sasuke, even if I could think up an elaborate scheme like this, do you really think I could prevent you from using your genjutsu tricks? I didn't have anything to do with this."

That seemed to mollify him. He obviously didn't believe Naruto was capable of such a thing.

"So what? You ride up on your white horse to kiss me awake like sleeping beauty and I'm supposed to believe you don't bring the whole of Konoha with you in order to force me back?"

"Yes," Naruto said simply. He didn't know what else to say. No one that really got to know him had ever doubted his word before.

Well at least it seemed to stump Sasuke for a while too. "There has to be another way."

"I can't think of one, can you?"

"You don't _want_ to think of another way."

"Neither could you before when you sent that message to Sakura when I was in trouble," Naruto pointed out. "You've been here for too long already. I…I don't want to lose you again."

Sasuke rested his own arm against the one Naruto had around him and sighed. "Let me think for a while."

"Okay, but not too long."

* * *

><p><em>Oooooo, so now we have the twist that Sasuke is in trouble from the dreams. And what about the new environment? Pretty creepy huh? And yet Sasuke is still being a stubborn bastard? Damnit! Love, if he really even feels it, won't make him change his mind, sex won't even do it and here force can't make him give in either. Just what will it take! Yes, I rant at characters too, even when I have control over them haha. But it must make you wonder just what if anything could compel him to give in. If he ever will.<em>

_ Oh and small note for unsigned reviews: I forgot to mention two chapters ago, stupid brain, thanks ArtKeepsMeSane - wasn't sure if I managed to reply or not but I am excited that you are excited to see new updates for the fic! Thanks!_

_To lazy to login - Wow I made you antisocial lol. Hope it was worth it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	10. Dreams About Monsters and Confessions

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 5 (10)**

**Dreams About Monsters and Confessions.**

The hours seemed to drag on and still Sasuke remained silent. This was a problem for Naruto for a few reasons. The first and most basic reason was because the longer they waited, the more Sasuke slept and the more in danger his life became. The second reason was sometime soon, Naruto would wake up naturally, and there was no real way to stop that from happening. He knew he could get out on purpose, they'd tested it a little while ago and Naruto had come right back after his success. But he'd still been tired so it had been easy to come back. He wouldn't be so lucky next time, and because he had been able to wake himself there was no reason to think he wouldn't wake up on his own either.

Previously when he'd spent so long in the dreams it had been because he was not only addicted to them, but having the dreams made him so exhausted he couldn't do anything other than sleep all the time. It was a vicious cycle that had resulted in Naruto passing out from exhaustion and being hospitalised. But these days he wasn't so tired and would wake up naturally if he didn't force himself awake first. Once awake he was almost just as refreshed as if he'd spent the whole night in a dreamless, invigorating sleep. So when he woke up this time he probably wouldn't be tired and he probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep either.

So with that in mind he promptly stopped his calm focus that helped his body relax while he dreamt in the hopes to stave off needing to wake up, but it would probably only buy him an hour at most. What he really needed to do was wear himself out and hope his body felt the exhaustion. After all, physical exhaustion in the dream had seemed to affect his body in the past, he knew that well enough from the cave dreams.

"I'm going to go look for it," Naruto said suddenly.

Sasuke snapped out of whatever deep thought he'd been thinking immediately and shifted in Naruto's arms.

"What, why?"

"We need to know what this thing is. If I can sneak up on it maybe I can watch it. I might even be able to take it by surprise and kill it."

"You don't even know if it _can_ be killed, moron. I couldn't kill it and it wasn't for lack of trying."

Normally that might have annoyed Naruto. Sasuke just assumed that if he hadn't been able to best the monster, there was no way Naruto would be able to. But instead of getting annoyed Naruto took the information on board. Sasuke might be a prick, but he was a talented prick. It hadn't been recently tested which of them was the better fighter yet, but Sasuke was good, and if Sasuke had ended up tied to a tree and solidly beaten, Naruto didn't have high hopes for himself either, despite who the better fighter was.

"I'll just watch it then. Maybe we can work out what it is. Or find some other way to stop it."

"What more do you need to know? I doubt you're going to find its ultimate weakness just by spying on it for a few seconds even if you do manage to get that close again without it noticing. It's not going to be wearing a big sign saying 'will surrender if tickled'."

Naruto almost laughed at the joke. But in his current mood he couldn't really manage it.

"I need the exercise," Naruto told him quietly. "If I don't do something, I'll wake up soon. This doesn't seem to be affecting me like you. There's no reason to believe I'll just keep sleeping like you have. Doing something to make my body tired in the dreams always made me sleep longer."

"Fine, let's fuck."

Thankfully he could tell Sasuke was only joking. Even the most diehard nymphomaniac would probably not really be in the mood after the treatment Sasuke had edured.

"I'm serious. Even running around for twenty minutes here might mean a couple more hours of sleep. I don't want to leave you here."

"I'd be touched if I cared," Sasuke replied acidly. "You said it yourself, we don't need to stick together. I can get myself out of this without your precious help."

If Sasuke wanted him to leave in an angry, hurt, huff he was certainly going about it the right way. But Naruto got the impression through his anger that there was something else going on here. But of course if he was wrong about this, he was really going to regret it.

"Do you want me to leave because you are worried about me?" Naruto speculated.

"No," Sasuke replied.

But his tone was just a little too quiet, his reply just a little too hesitant and Naruto realised he'd lied.

"You don't have to worry about me," Naruto continued as though Sasuke hadn't just said the opposite of what he'd meant. "I'm not hurt, I can wake myself up if I get into trouble so there's no reason for you to want me gone because of that. I'm worried about _you_."

Continuing to lie at this point was apparently too childish even for Sasuke. Even if he didn't sound too happy that he'd been caught out.

"Don't be, I've been through worse."

"Yeah, but you don't have to do it alone."

"I'm used to it."

"If you are, then why were you so keen earlier for me to stay when we first got here? You said we were in this together. You sounded like you wanted that-"

But Naruto did get to finish. Sasuke's hand had reached up to clamp over Naruto's mouth silencing him.

It was then Naruto heard it, it wasn't real close, but they could hear the roar of the monster in the vicinity of their little hidey-hole. And when it roared again it sounded a little closer than before.

At this point Naruto had an idea. He could get in some exercise while leading the monster away from Sasuke by getting the thing to chase him. After all, it had been easy enough to escape it the first time so he wasn't particularly worried about being caught this time.

Wordlessly he pushed at Sasuke's shoulders trying to convey to him to move away so Naruto could get up. But Sasuke refused. He stayed put and gripped Naruto's legs stretched out either side of him to hold him in place.

"No," Sasuke hissed.

"I'm not going to confront it, I'm just gonna get it to chase me," Naruto whispered.

"I'll go then."

It was Naruto's turn to grab Sasuke's shoulders in an attempt to stop his friend from moving this time.

"Think about it Sasuke. You're hurt and the last thing we want to do is tire your body out more. I need to do as much as I can to wear myself out so I can sleep longer. And if I get into really big trouble, I can wake myself up."

"I thought you were trying to avoid waking up."

"I'll only use it as a last resort."

Sasuke was quiet for a while after that. Naruto realised he was understandably torn about what to do. On one hand Sasuke didn't want to be left alone, on the other hand he wanted Naruto to leave and wake up to be spared the danger himself. Sasuke was probably just trying to decide which course of action would help him most with his dilemma.

Naruto was curious as to which desire would win out as well. Selflessly protecting Naruto, or the more selfish option of wanting him to stay.

"Fine," Sasuke said after a closer roar this time. "Lead it away. But I want you to wake up when it's done."

"But Sasuke I-"

"I will be fine here for a few more hours while you are gone."

Naruto had no intention of following Sasuke's request. But he did appreciate Sasuke's motives behind the request. Sasuke was being selfless. And while Naruto knew he did have it in him – well, occasionally – usually Sasuke was only selfless when it suited some other goal and Naruto couldn't see how Sasuke might benefit from him leaving other than to put his own mind at ease from worry.

Naruto let go of Sasuke's shoulders and allowed him to move away. When Naruto got to his knees, he reached out and found Sasuke's arm and shuffled toward him. He ran his hand up the arm to his shoulder, over his shoulder and up his neck till he could cup the side of Sasuke's face. He leant in and kissed him gently for a few lingering moments before leaning back taking a deep breath.

"Don't kiss me like you're going to die, dobe," Sasuke whispered sardonically. "Even _you_ should be able to run and not get killed."

That wasn't the reason, but Sasuke probably didn't realise Naruto understood his concern and how much he appreciated it.

Naruto headed toward the dim light of the entrance to their little hidey hole and after a quick peek at their surroundings to make sure he wasn't being watched, he emerged into the skeletal forest and mist covered ground once more and started heading off in the direction he'd last heard the roar from. He'd only been away from Sasuke five minutes when he heard a low growl behind him. The sound coupled with the snapping of twigs sent a chill down his back. Resisting the urge to look back he started running.

Unlike before he wasn't trying to escape. He was trying to lure the thing away from Sasuke, and therefore needed the thing to follow him for as long as possible. The monster wasn't particularly fast but it wasn't slow either. With all of Naruto's training he only barely managed to keep ahead of the thing and he knew if he tripped he would be caught and probably tortured like Sasuke had been. It was hardly a pleasant thought.

Sasuke also expected Naruto to be gone for a long time, perhaps until night fell in the real world when Naruto would be again tired enough to sleep after his escape from the dream tonight. That meant that if he was caught, his chances of a rescue were slim. So having that in the back of his head he tried to pick his route carefully, but being slightly panicked he still ran into branches occasionally that would scratch his face and arms badly. He didn't let it slow him down though. As frightening as the idea was of being caught, he wanted to keep Sasuke safe even more. He knew that even if the thing did end up catching him, he would resist waking as much as possible. The longer the monster had to toy with him, the longer it would be prevented from going out looking for Sasuke. And the further he could lead the thing away, the more he upped Sasuke's chances of staying hidden as well.

He managed to stay ahead and had no mishaps which was a surprise since he was running all out across the forest and could barely see where he was placing his feet thanks to the mist. And he knew he could keep this up for hours so he was-

It was then he felt a white hot pain rake down his back. The force of the blow sent him forward and he was barely able to stop the full impact of smacking his head into the tree in front of him. He still hit his head, but it would have been worse if his reflexes hadn't saved him in time. Nevertheless, he had hit his head hard enough to open a gash just above his eyebrow and he spent a few precious seconds wiping away the blood threatening to run into his right eye and steadying himself against the tree trunk when he should have resumed running.

It was now that he got his first proper view of their nightmare monster. Naruto didn't know if it was because of the blow to the head or not, but the beast looked almost like a blurry shadow. There was definite substance there, but the edges looked fuzzy and the features almost entirely absent. It was so dark it was almost like a hole in the forest. At the moment the general shape of the thing reminded Naruto of a really large bulky panther-like creature. And the only features he could see where those two glowing red eyes.

It was too late to escape now. If he turned to run, the thing would be on him in seconds and he'd have no chance to defend himself. He had to stay and fight. But then he remembered Sasuke telling him that the thing had spoken to him before, giving Naruto the idea that maybe it was possible to reason with it. Or at the very least delay the inevitable for a few precious minutes.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked.

"You should wake up little boy. The other one thinks he doesn't need you anyway," the thing replied.

The voice was so odd. It was like a deep throaty hiss that somehow got transformed in words. If possible it was even scarier than the thing itself.

"He doesn't need me. He can kill you himself!"

The thing started stalking around to his side, very slowly, its eyes never leaving Naruto. Naruto watched it warily, ready if the thing pounced.

"You have such faith in him. I wonder what he has done to deserve such faith from _you_. I will let you in on a secret little boy: Having great skill does not mean you can face everything life will through at you all on your own."

"Stop calling me that! And he's not alone, I won't leave him!"

The thing chuckled at him. "But you are a little boy. Your naivety is like that of a child. You may never want to leave him, but can you say the same for him? No, you can't, can you? This is because it wouldn't be the first time he has left you. What makes you think he wouldn't do it again?"

"H-how do you know all this?

"Ah, that is unimportant little boy. Tell me where the other one is hiding, and I will let you go. It would be very unpleasant for you if I were to keep you. But you can forgo any pain if you tell me what I want to know. You have no reason to protect the traitor any longer."

"You think I would give him up to you, dream on!"

"Hah, nice choice of words. I will then, though for you, for the time being, that is no longer an option."

And then Naruto's eyes flicked open to see the sun peaking in through the curtains of his bedroom window and he sat up with a start.

"No!"

* * *

><p>He tried to get back to sleep for a good long hour after that, but he wasn't tired. He'd had a whole night sleep and although a lot had happened during that night, all it had done for him was make him sleep a total of ten hours instead of his usual seven or eight. All of that running around, all of that worry, had only bought him at most three hours and it wasn't enough.<p>

The monster was after Sasuke, that much was clear by now. It had chased Naruto fair enough, but it wasn't mindless, it had chased him down because Naruto might point the way towards Sasuke.

He was surprised why the thing hadn't tortured him for the information at the very least. It hadn't tried very hard to get the information it wanted, and that gave Naruto some hope. He'd first thought when he'd woken up that the monster had been the one to dismiss him from the dream, but now that he thought about it, it seemed unlikely that the thing would get rid of him without putting up more of an effort to get some information from him. Sure that meant that the monster had known when Naruto was going to wake up, which was a little worrisome, but not as much as knowing it had the power to dismiss him at will.

His real problem now was getting back to sleep. After all their caution trying to prevent Naruto from sleeping too much it turned out that is what he really needed right now. He supposed he could try tiring himself out, but that would take too long. And then it came to him; he could enter the dream when unconscious. When he'd passed out previously he'd gone straight back into the dream, so if he gave himself a big enough knock on the head, he figured he might be able to achieve the same thing. But he had to be careful. After he'd started losing a lot of blood last time the dream had stopped so he figured this time he had to hit his head hard enough to knock himself out, but not too hard that he endangered his life. It was a tricky proposition.

And then there was the question of how to do it. It wasn't like he could punch himself. He could fall off something or bang his head against a wall, but who knew what he would do to himself? No, he needed help. And he needed it fast.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, I need you to knock me out!"<p>

Sakura was left holding a clipboard and staring at her team mate in complete shock. No 'hello, how are you', just the request to knock Naruto out and no explanation.

"I'm not knocking you out!" Sakura responded after a moment.

"But you hit me all the time! And besides, you're a medic, you know how to do it without hurting me too much."

Seeing that he was indeed serious, Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm and led him off into a deserted hospital room where they could talk privately.

"Naruto, tell me why you want me to hit you."

"Please trust me Sakura-chan! I really need you to do this."

She watched him for a few dubious moments like she was trying to work it out herself.

"What's wrong with you?"

He hadn't really wanted to come to Sakura for this express reason. She would demand answers he didn't want to give and then she would probably refuse anyway. All he had was to hope she trusted him.

"There's nothing wrong with me. Please."

"Look if you tell me what's going on, maybe I can help. Certainly more than having to hit you."

Naruto spent a few moments here debating what to tell her. Obviously she wasn't just going to do it on his word alone, and really he couldn't blame her. If someone ran up to him pleading to be smacked in the head hard enough to knock them unconscious, he'd be more than a little curious too. Maybe he should have just gone to Lee and told him it was a manly test of willpower or some bullshit like that, but Lee was out on mission and really whenever he thought about being smacked in the head, he immediately thought of Sakura.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Sasuke's in trouble."

Her eyes got real wide for a moment before she began to frown again.

"And you being unconscious would help him how…?" Then she seemed to catch on and got really angry very quickly. "Naruto! These are about the dreams aren't they? You're still having them! I knew they were messing with your mind, but this is extreme insanity. Just because you might have dreamt about Sasuke being in trouble doesn't mean it's true. I know the dream seems really lifelike but-"

"It's really him Sakura. He's dreaming the same as me."

"You've gone nuts, you know that?"

"Sakura think about it for a moment. When I was in trouble before, how did you know?"

"Well, those ninja cats. But I don't know-"

"Yeah and where did those cats come from?"

"We never found out. We assumed that whoever had put you under the genjutsu had dissent in their ranks and someone undermining them sent us word."

Naruto hadn't been aware of that theory. Tsunade had probably come up with that, but even _he_ thought it was pretty far fetched. But hey, no more far fetched than believing the person sharing the dream with him had sent them.

"Uh huh, but there's another explanation. Who else do you know that knows ninja cats?"

_That _got her. He was surprised actually that she hadn't made the connection when it had happened the first time. But she obviously didn't remember.

"Well, I knew they looked familiar but I…oh."

Sakura took that moment to sit down on the hospital bed behind her before she fell down.

"This is the reason I knew Sasuke wasn't the one responsible for the genjutsu," Naruto pressed. "Because he was a victim of it too. I wasn't dreaming _about_ him, I was sharing the dream _with_ him. He knew I was in trouble because I told him in the dream. So he woke up and sent the message to you."

Sakura still looked to be getting over the shock. She had gone very pale and was staring blankly at the wall directly across from her.

"This can't be true. Who would do that?"

"Good question. But I've got a bigger problem at the moment."

He then told Sakura about the latest string of dreams focussing mainly on the last one and the monster that was after Sasuke. He did however leave out the more intimate details of being in the field previously, figuring she'd had enough of a shock for one day.

"So that's why I need your help. I can't leave him in there to face that thing alone," Naruto concluded.

Sakura closed her eyes and got to her feet. And then she did smack the back of his head. It hurt a lot, but he was conscious for the pain.

"Ah, Sakura you're going to have to hit me a lot harder than that," Naruto told her while rubbing the back of his sore head.

"You idiot! How could you keep this from me! You've been talking to Sasuke this whole time and I had no idea. Not to mention the fact that the both of you have been continuing to dream together in a genjutsu that was probably designed to kill you both. I mean how stupid can you be!"

"I told Sasuke that, but he wouldn't listen. It was his idea to stay!"

"I don't care! We have to tell Tsunade-sama about this."

"No! Sakura you can't. I only told you because I trusted you to keep this to yourself. Tsunade won't understand. But you do, you care about Sasuke too."

Sakura must have realised the truth in that because she didn't argue the point. Rather she took a deep breath and opened her eyes finally.

"Okay fine. But you have to promise me that it stops after you've resolved this. After Sasuke is safe, neither of you are to keep it up, am I understood?"

Sakura didn't know what she was asking. Besides the fact that Sasuke would just do whatever the hell he wanted regardless of what Sakura made Naruto promise, she didn't know about the growing closeness between them that Naruto would also be giving up. But it wasn't like it wasn't something that hadn't already occurred to him before. These dreams were dangerous and they had to stop. But could he do that if it meant never getting to spend that time with Sasuke again? Well, if it would keep Sasuke safe, Naruto would agree to just about anything.

"Okay Sakura, I promise."

"Good. Now there are other ways we can knock you out without causing brain damage you know. Heaven knows you sure don't need to lose any more brain cells."

Sakura made him wait in the room while she went off to fetch something. She came back ten minutes later with a vial of something vaguely yellow in colour and told him to drink it.

"What is it?" He asked eyeing the bottle suspiciously.

"It's like the other potions you have, only this one will not numb your mind to the point where you can't dream while you're asleep. It will knock you out for a good four hours, but after that you'll sleep normally for another two unless you're woken up.

"So after four hours I'll be able to wake myself up if I want?"

Sakura frowned. "I don't know, I guess so. I don't know what Sasuke taught you exactly but you'll be sleeping relatively naturally after four hours or so, so I guess whatever worked before should start to work again then."

Well, whatever. Before now he'd been so desperate to get back into the dream he would have suffered a major head injury to do so. Taking the potion was a way better solution.

"But I want you to stay here so I can keep an eye on you. And if you haven't woken up after seven hours I'm going to wake you myself, okay?"

He wanted to tell her not to, to let him sleep for as long as it took, but she had a very stubborn set to her features that Naruto had seen many times before and there was no way he was going to talk her out of that.

"Okay. And thank you Sakura. I knew I could rely on you."

Sakura did smile then but only for a moment. "C'mon, drink the potion already. Sasuke needs you."

Naruto nodded with a smile and downed the entire contents in one gulp.

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Well so now he's finally told someone else. This was a late minute thing I gotta tell you and I'm not sure what it will do to the story but we'll see. Anyway so Sasuke still hasn't come up with a plan and time is getting away from them both. Neither of them can keep it up for too much longer…<em>

_Unsigned reviews:_

_Yu-chan – thank you so much, I'm really glad you are enjoying the fic and I hope to keep the awesomeness up for you :)_

_Liv – Wow, thanks! I get a little that way too sometimes which I why I started posting things like this in the first place so thanks again for your kind words I really appreciate it._

_Starladyplace – sorry I didn't reply last chapter. You were signed it but I think you have PM blocked so I forgot to add this last chapter. My bad. But anyway, thank you so much, I'm always happy to hear when people say I've kept them in character because it's something I worry about being able to do. And as the the other…don't worry, the fic isn't over yet and I promise there will be more opportunity later for the good stuff ;)_

_Till next time everyone,_

_Dash._


	11. Dreams About What It Would Take

_Updated 02/03/12_**  
><strong>

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 6 (11)**

**Dreams About What It Would Take.**

Naruto appeared back in the dream after only being gone for about two hours or so. So after making sure nothing was following him he found the tree they had using as a hide out and slipped inside.

Coming in from the dim light outside into the darkness inside caused him a few blind moments wherein something grabbed his arm tightly and whispered, "Naruto?"

The relief he felt was like swallowing something warm and sweet and then that feeling spread out through his belly and the rest of his body just from hearing that voice in the darkness. He had been more than a little worried that Sasuke might take it into his head to do something stupid. "Yeah, it's me. You okay?"

He felt the grip relax and Sasuke's other hand came up to rest against the side of his neck.

"Yeah, you?"

"Better than I was. Did you know that if you get hurt and then wake up you don't come into the dream again with the same injuries you left with?"

"Ah no," Sasuke said slowly. "What injuries?"

"Well um, the thing sort of caught me."

There was definitely a pissed atmosphere in the air now as Naruto struggled to explain. "Well not really _caught_ me. I got raked by the thing's claws and I hit my head, but nothing major. It didn't really go after me much after that. It just sort of talked to me."

"Fucking idiot!" Sasuke hissed at him. He shoved him backwards causing Naruto to land on his butt with his back up against the inside wall of the tree while Sasuke held him in place with a palm to his chest. Naruto was just starting to be able to make out more of their surroundings as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, but even he could see how livid Sasuke looked. "I told you to run. What did I say, 'even you can run without getting caught can't you?'"

"I was more concerned with not tripping over tree roots I couldn't see and having the thing pounce on me, than running as fast as I could."

"And here you were _so_ worried about me, when you clearly should have been more concerned about your own inability to stay away from the monster!"

Naruto wished he knew whether Sasuke was venting because of concern for him or whether he was just pissed that Naruto had failed in his simple task.

"What did it say to you?" Sasuke asked him.

"Not much, it was just trying to get me to turn against you. It didn't work."

"Obviously."

Naruto failed to mention that the thing had only seemed interested in finding Sasuke. There was no way Sasuke could be more wary of the monster so Naruto didn't see the point in making him even more anxious about it.

He felt rather than saw Sasuke's forehead hit his chest lightly and he reached up to run his fingers through the silky black hair.

"I'm okay now, by the way."

Sasuke muttered something that was unintelligible from his position but Naruto thought he heard 'idiot' repeated in there somewhere and figured he probably didn't want to hear the rest anyway.

"Have you come up with any brilliant ideas to free yourself yet?" Naruto asked pointedly.

Sasuke didn't reply which usually meant Sasuke didn't want to admit defeat about something.

"Sasuke, it's almost been two days. You can't go on like this."

Sasuke raised his head and sat back. "Thanks Captain Obvious, I needed the reminder," he said sarcastically.

"Well, just think fast okay?"

* * *

><p>"Why do you think <em>my<em> abilities were blocked and not yours?" Naruto heard a speculative voice ask from the darkness in front of him.

Sasuke was lying on his back in front of where Naruto was still sitting up against the inside of the trunk, legs bent. There wasn't a lot of room inside the tree trunk and when Sasuke had first lain down he'd inadvertently hit the back of his head against the opposite wall. Naruto had then grabbed his legs and pulled him down closer to him to give him more space, planting Sasuke's feet on the ground either side of where he was sitting. Whenever he shifted he could feel his knees bump against the underside of Sasuke's thighs. Cramped, yet cosy.

Now Naruto leant forward, hooking his arms around Sasuke's legs once more. He wasn't about to shift Sasuke's position again, but he liked feeling the reassuring warmth of the other person now more than ever.

He gazed toward Sasuke's dark outline stretched out in front of him and shrugged. "I don't know," Naruto told him.

Which was true, but Naruto had been thinking that maybe this attack was something more personally after Sasuke than him. The monster hadn't come out and said it, but it seemed pretty obvious even to him.

"And if this is really an attack on us, why has it taken this long to show itself?"

Naruto frowned. "Shouldn't you be thinking of ways to wake up instead of trying to work all this shit out?"

"I thought the answer might be in its motives. Now, answer my question."

Naruto was pretty surprised. Sasuke didn't ask him his opinion often and had never really seemed to care about the motives behind the dreams much either, so Naruto was doubly surprised to hear him change his tune now.

"The dream was probably meant to kill us off ages ago," Naruto told him. "Whoever's doing this probably got sick of waiting."

"That's not a completely stupid hypothesis actually," Sasuke told him, as though what he'd just said hadn't been as insulting as hell. "The monster and this new place only appeared just after you'd started mastering some of my little tricks. So maybe they feared the dreams wouldn't kill us on their own after all. But then, back to my original question: why block my abilities and not yours?"

"Well, you're stronger in the dreams than I am," Naruto admitted trying not to sound too annoyed by that. "It probably doesn't think I'm as much of a threat."

"Maybe," Sasuke responded. "But there's a lot I still don't get. Assuming all of that is true, and the dreams really were meant to kill us, what's with the changing scenery? Our dreamscape changes at random intervals and I don't really see how that fits."

That confounded him. Naruto thought it over for a few moments before realising that it wasn't the questions themselves that were really confusing him, it was Sasuke's tone. He was the one that had been caught off guard here. He hadn't been expecting trouble not even in this dismal place until the moment he'd been attacked. Considering this had, in the past, almost killed Naruto, Sasuke had never really seemed concerned about who was responsible until now.

"You never used to think the dreams were bad," Naruto guessed in shock. "Sasuke, the dreams almost killed me, they obviously weren't designed for us just so we could have a romantic getaway from the real world!"

"Keep your voice down!" Sasuke hissed. "And no, apart from what happened to you, it was too difficult to believe this was some kind of attack. Think of the things we've seen, the things we got to experience. For an enemy attack it was certainly a very nice one."

"Waking up in the hospital with a skull fracture isn't my idea of nice," Naruto told him hotly, but lowering his voice once more. "And of course it seemed nice before that because it was trying to make us addicted to them. Nobody would want to keep going back to a place that was horrible each night if they had a choice. This is the first truly horrible place we've been dumped into and you've had the choice taken away from you. Isn't that telling you something by now?"

At least that seemed to get through to him to judge by the silence that followed.

"So if they could trap either of us, why wait till now?" Sasuke asked eventually. "If someone really wanted us dead, why not trap us in the first place and be done with it. Why give us nice scenery and let us wake up every morning if this was always an option. And besides _you're_ not trapped here."

"No, but I've kept coming back anyway," Naruto pointed out. "While you're trapped I'll keep coming back. I won't leave here by choice while you're still here."

"But how do they know this? And furthermore, why the hell do they care?"

"What does it matter? You can't leave, I won't leave, so they have what they want. Well, except for us being dead. Maybe they don't have the power to trap both of us. Even you, genjutsu freak that you are, only just started really figuring out how to manipulate the dreams recently, maybe they are learning more too. But what I really wonder about is why the monster didn't just kill you when it had you before."

"Maybe I was bait so it could get us both. Maybe it can't actually kill us while we're here after all. It might just be here to make us suffer."

Well that was hardly happy news. Even if they couldn't be killed in their dreams unless something happened to their bodies in reality, torture was still a very good reason to stay away from the thing. Naruto could still make out the dark slashes on Sasuke where the thing had hurt him before and it must have been really painful. Just because they might not die didn't mean the monster couldn't make them wish they could.

"Does it still hurt?" Naruto asked gently.

"Yes," Sasuke replied tersely. "And laying on the cold ground isn't helping. But I'm too fucking tired to sit up anymore."

"You can lay against me again if you want," Naruto offered.

Sasuke snorted. "As much as I'd love to fulfil your weird need to cuddle something, I'm not in the mood."

"Hey weren't you the one two nights ago hugging _me_?"

"I was happy for you," Sasuke replied dismissively. "I'm not particularly happy about anything right now."

Naruto sighed and sat back again. "So you only hug people when you're happy. I can guess you don't get a lot of hugs then," Naruto told him sourly.

"Does pinning you and kissing you quiet count?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Sasuke sat up suddenly and pinned Naruto's shoulders to the wall behind him, ducking his head forward and kissing him roughly. When he pulled away he continued, "Because you being quiet has the potential to make me _very_ happy."

"Asshole."

"Was that an invite?"

"No! Don't pretend to be all horny right now, not even you-"

Sasuke didn't let him finish, he kissed him again roughly, leaning over him so much that the hands on his shoulders were painfully pushing him back into the dead wood of the tree.

Sasuke released his lips when Naruto made a sound partway between pain and pleasure and looked into his eyes for a moment.

That was the weird thing about Sasuke, he would be rough right through all the name calling and telling him off, up until the point when he thought you were really in pain, but unwilling to say anything about it. Like the fact that you were silent about it made it more real. It was the only point where he got concerned enough to stop and make sure you were okay.

It made him wonder again how much Sasuke actually cared about him, what he would do for him and what it would take for him to admit it either way. After all, trapping Sasuke here meant Naruto was in a way trapped too because he would never leave Sasuke here in this situation on his own by choice. Was there a reason it had to be that way around? If only one of them could be blocked had they chosen Sasuke knowing that if the situation were reversed Sasuke would not be so inclined to stick around?

It was a bleak thought and he tried not to think about it. Sasuke had proved to him that he cared, albeit in a Sasuke sort of way, without really outright telling him exactly what he thought. But to make the thought go away entirely, he'd have to hear it from Sasuke. He needed to know.

"Sasuke?"

"What's wrong?"

"Do you-"

But Naruto never got to finish. They both heard the roar of the monster hunting for them and both decided that talking could wait until later.

For now they sat back down away from the opening and watched and listened for any signs the monster was getting closer. It might just be provoking them again to get one of them to repeat what Naruto had done before and make a run for it. But neither would leave, not this time. This time they'd stay together.

* * *

><p>It wasn't like you could sleep in the dream because technically you were already asleep. But occasionally Naruto would lie down and kind of phase out or doze for a little while so he could relax. So that's what they were doing now. They'd spent a little while listening for the monster till they couldn't hear it anymore and then they'd spend their time talking over various plans on how to get Sasuke out. However, no real progress had been made.<p>

It had been a while since Naruto had come back and he was pretty sure he could now wake himself up again if he wanted to, but Naruto had promised himself and Sasuke that he wouldn't try to leave again till they had a solid plan so they'd fallen into companionable silence and dozed for a while.

They lay shoulder to shoulder with their legs drawn up to fit inside the space in the tree. Naruto's feet were just inside the entrance and feeling a little cramped so he stretched them briefly outside in order to wake them up a little more.

Being cosy and relaxed had evidently made him a little stupid though. As soon as his feet poked outside, he felt something cold grab onto his ankle and the searing pain of claws bite clean into his flesh. Before he could make a sound though, he was dragged half out of the tree with a force and speed that wasn't human.

Sasuke was quicker though and managed to grab onto his arm before he was pulled outside completely, and the pain as Sasuke yanked on his arm was almost as bad as the pain radiating up from his leg.

He could hear Sasuke grunt from the effort it took to keep him inside, but Naruto almost wished he'd let go. Sure he'd be taken by a nightmare monster off to the gods knew where, to have undoubtedly painful things happen to him, but the pain was so great he wasn't really caring about that at the moment. At the moment he didn't know if Sasuke might dislocate his shoulder or whether the monster would rip his leg off.

"Sas…let…let go," Naruto pleaded through the pain.

Sasuke just shook his head and clenched his teeth.

"No."

"Sasuke…pl-please!"

"No!"

But in the end the decision was taken out of Sasuke's hands, quite literally when after one enormous tug, Sasuke's hands slipped from around his wrist and Naruto was dragged outside.

He continued to be dragged through the woods over leaves, dirt and roots that smashed into his back making him cry out. He thought he'd heard Sasuke call out his name once, but it sounded pitifully distant to him.

Just as he thought his foot was about to be ripped off again, the dragging stopped and he was pulled to his feet. Something humanoid this time twisted both of his arms up painfully behind his back and he was left half holding himself up on his one good leg and half pressed back against the shadow monster behind him. Where it touched his skin it burnt with cold, so cold it was almost searing him. One of his arms was pushed up and out and he felt a fierce wave of pain as it was neatly broken.

It took all his willpower not to wake up right then. As much pain as he was in right now he had promised Sasuke he wouldn't leave him alone here and he had meant it.

He saw Sasuke skid to a stop about fifteen metres away glaring such pure venom that Naruto's breath was taken away. Sasuke wasn't afraid any more, he was really angry. He wouldn't be taken by surprise this time and he wouldn't get scared and Naruto would have felt sorry for the shadow monster if it hadn't just rendered two of his limbs useless in painful agony.

It still had a hold of Naruto's other arm though and Naruto felt and smelt sour warm breath waft against the side of his face as the thing pressed closer.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the thing spoke in its low gravely voice. "You look angry, did I take something of yours?"

"Yes," Sasuke hissed. "Give him back."

Naruto felt something hot and slimly sneak up his neck making him want to gag. The thing had actually licked him!

Sasuke meanwhile took a determined step forward, but the thing twisted Naruto's arm up further and Naruto couldn't help but cry out. Point taken, Sasuke stopped moving.

"Who are you?" Naruto choked out.

"I am the one that is responsible for your dreams. I made them change as you progressed where I wanted and I made it go bad when you did things I didn't like. I can do things to you here that will make your real selves go insane. I could even kill you if I wanted. I want a lot of things from the pair of you, but what's the fun in telling you the point of all this? It's a lot more fun when you work it out for yourselves. Even more fun when I get to punish you for doing something bad."

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Naruto bit out. "I can take it."

"Yes I'm sure you can. But I think your friend over there isn't handling you being hurt so well. And really it is his fault you are in this mess. He made me do this."

Sasuke didn't look worried though. "What the fuck did I do? And besides like I care what you do to him, the pain isn't real."

"Oh? A moment ago you were demanding him back, now you don't care? Your cool is slipping, Uchiha."

"I don't care what you think either."

"I think you _will_ care what I do. What if I broke his other arm?" The thing asked twisting Naruto's arm again making him wince.

"I don't care," Sasuke repeated. "It's not real."

"What if I gouged his eyes out?" The thing tried again using its free hand to reach up and dig a sharp claw into Naruto's cheek and cutting his face just below his eye. "I'm sure Naruto here feels the pain like it's real."

"I told you I don't care!" Sasuke repeated vehemently. Well it was probably supposed to sound that way. But by the subtle way his voice shook Naruto could tell he was lying and barely controlling both his panic and his anger.

"Oh well, I can see you obviously don't care about him after all," The

monster replied mockingly. "So what if I just simply took him from you and made him mine. You wouldn't care if I just bent him over and fucked him in front of you would you?" The monster asked moving that free hand again and using it's claw to poke into the side of his pants, cutting through the waistband as well as the flesh below it causing a hiss of pain from Naruto. "You could not care as he cried out for you while I ravage his body, bite into his flesh and fucked him mercilessly till he bled and screamed in mindless agony. That wouldn't bother you at all would it? It wouldn't even bother you if I went ahead and killed him either would it?"

The monster was mocking Sasuke, but Naruto had the sickest impression that it wasn't joking either just to get a rise out of Sasuke. As it was Sasuke had clenched his eyes shut. His face had turned a pale, dead white. He was shaking now in barely controlled fury and Naruto could easily tell that Sasuke _did_ actually care. He cared about what happened to him a lot, despite what he'd said. Saying he didn't had all been a front. And if he didn't have the threat of being raped by a scary shadow monster hanging over his head, Naruto might have appreciated that a little more.

"Sasuke," Naruto said, barely above a whisper. Sasuke heard him though and his eyes snapped open to look into Naruto's. "Run," Naruto urged him.

Sasuke sucked in a deep breath when Naruto had told him to run. He blinked slowly and of all things, actually smiled a little. Naruto thought he'd given up for a panicked moment. He wanted Sasuke to run, but he also wanted to vomit at the thought of being hurt by this thing and Sasuke looked like all the fight had suddenly left him.

But when Sasuke had opened his eyes the second time they looked clear and determined.

"I guess we go to plan A after all. Naruto, wake up and come find me where we met again after three years. Get your white horse into gear, I'll be fine here. And dobe, when I get my wake up kiss, I want to feel tongue."

It took a long time, but Naruto grinned when the message eventually sank in. He relaxed his body and let the pain wake him up. The last glimpse he saw of Sasuke was him running forward ready to strike out at the monster. But when Naruto opened his eyes again he was staring at the hospital ceiling bathed in sunlight and Sasuke was gone from sight.

The pain had left, but it was hard to get out of bed at first. But he had to get moving if he was going to get to the Sound Country by tomorrow.

* * *

><p>It took what seemed to be an hour to tell Sakura what had happened and then another whole hour to convince her to stay behind and cover for him. After all, he didn't know how long he would be gone for and he doubted very much if Sasuke would appreciate having Sakura there when he finally woke. Truth be told he might not be greatly impressed seeing Naruto either. Naruto might be going there to save him, but this was something Sasuke had been against from the very beginning and had only been forced into the decision when he knew Naruto wouldn't leave till they had a plan and would get hurt badly because of it.<p>

He made Sakura finally understand, got his stuff together and left Konoha as quickly as he could.

* * *

><p>Frantically searching through the rooms of the underground hideout for Sasuke was a bit of a depressing déjà vu moment for Naruto. Running down corridors, opening random doors, and looking desperately inside. He was at it for over an hour before he burst through one door to find a sleeping Sasuke stretched out on his back on the only bed in the room.<p>

Naruto ran inside and fell onto his knees next to the bed, blowing out a long relieved breath he hadn't been aware of holding till this moment when he saw Sasuke's chest still rising and falling. It had been three days since Sasuke had gone to sleep and Naruto had been sure he wouldn't make it in time. He vaguely remembered being told that the human body couldn't last more than three days without water but here was Sasuke defying that. Although by the look of him, not by much. He looked paler than usual and thinner too. The only thing that had probably saved him at all was because while he was asleep he was practically comatose so his body was probably lasting longer than it should have normally.

He felt for Sasuke's pulse to find it dismally fluttering in his neck. If he was going to wake him up, sooner was better than later. He wasn't sure if Sasuke had been joking about his request on how he wanted to be woken or not, but Naruto had been determined to fulfil it anyway. Well, mostly. This wasn't dream Sasuke lying in front of him, this Sasuke was real flesh and blood, the person he'd been chasing for so long. It was almost unreal to be in the same room with him now.

Naruto ran his fingers down the side of Sasuke's sleeping face to find his skin cold and clammy, but it was still Sasuke and dream or no, he decided that nothing was going to stop him from waking Sasuke the way he wanted to. He got out his water bottle and moistened Sasuke's dry chapped lips with a wet finger so he wouldn't hurt him and leant down to press his lips against his unconscious friend's. While he did that he focused all he could into that connection to disrupt Sasuke's chakra and snap him out of the genjutsu. For a panicked moment he thought it wasn't working. Then he felt those lips move against his very slowly. It wasn't real pleasant kissing someone who'd been asleep for three days, but to Naruto, Sasuke had never tasted better than when he'd started to respond. He stopped the kiss well before he wanted to and drew his face away to look into Sasuke's half open eyes.

"About fucking time," Sasuke rasped out. "But didn't I ask for tongue?"

End of Part 2…TBC in Part 3.

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Oh don't worry. I'm not having a break in between parts like I did before. I promised to get this finished and I will so Part 3 will start with the next upload within the coming two weeks, probably sooner actually. I just felt like it was a good place to end a part and start a new one. And I like trilogies, sue me ;) I did consider putting this on hiatus again while I restarted Remember Me Part 2 but the inundation of rotten cyber fruit I would have had hurled at my head told me not to dare.<em>

_ Anyway, now we know what it would take for Sasuke to give in. And yes that was the possible rape and torture of Naruto at the hands of the scary shadow monster, but hey, it's pretty romantic in a Sasuke kind of way even so._

_ So this is the highly awaited moment of meeting in the real world second only to finally finding out who is behind the dreams, something that is still a good few chapters away yet I'm sorry to say. It's not initially how I imagined it happening, but I like when I get to give Naruto those little hero saving Sasuke moments that I couldn't resist. Now all we have to wonder is how things will go from here… _

_**Review comments of particular interest to the chapter -**_

_Ugottalongway2go - haha, called it didn't you? Two birds with one stone indeed :)_

_Yu-chan - sorry for the delay but your infuriation should be somewhat soothed now they've met and all that lol. Hope you enjoyed it :)_


	12. Dreams About Waking Up and Letting Go

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 3**

**Chapter 1 (12)**

**Dreams About Waking Up and Letting Go.**

Naruto had almost collapsed against the bed in relief at those words and he smiled widely down at Sasuke, not even embarrassed to see his vision blur a little from unshed tears. Naruto blinked them away and helped Sasuke sit up enough to drink some water from the canteen. After a few little sips he coughed and Naruto put the bottle down on the floor while he rubbed Sasuke's back till he stopped coughing.

Eventually he did stop and Naruto helped him lay back down. Sasuke looked tired enough to go back to sleep straight away, but he was obviously fighting against it.

"You have to drink more water," Naruto reminded him. "And I brought food too."

Sasuke didn't respond and Naruto couldn't really blame him. He was babbling, he knew that. From relief and excitement mostly, but also because he was a little nervous too. The last time he'd met Sasuke in the real world he'd tried to kill him and while he probably wouldn't be fighting fit for another couple of days, it didn't mean that he might not want to get back to that despite what he'd been like in the dream.

"You should probably sleep more," Naruto suggested instead.

He saw Sasuke still manage to find the energy to give him a sour look, but Naruto just gave him a nervous smile and grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry. I'll stay here and run chakra through your body while you sleep. It should keep you out of the dream."

Sasuke nodded and to Naruto's surprise squeezed his hand for a moment before closing his eyes. He seemed to go back to sleep almost immediately and Naruto sat back on the floor with his legs crossed beneath him knowing he was going to be sitting there for a long time.

* * *

><p>A long time turned out to be about nine hours actually. By this point Naruto's ass had gone from painful to numb while sitting on the floor, and there were only so many ways he could sit before it started hurting his legs too. He didn't want to sit on the bed in case he woke Sasuke so he endured the pain and spent most of his time watching Sasuke sleep. There was really little else to do, but Naruto didn't mind because he'd never had the opportunity to stare at his friend for so long without interruption before. And definitely not without Sasuke giving him odd looks.<p>

It was weird but somehow Sasuke looked…sharper in real life than he did in the dream. That didn't really make sense, the dreams were in no way fuzzy or unclear it was just like real life except for the dreams' breathtaking views and scary monsters. Although, he supposed, those things often happened in real life too. It might have had something to do with the fact that Sasuke hadn't eaten for a while making his features more defined, but either way the effect was a little unsettling.

Still it felt good to see him, to hold his hand and know that this was the real Sasuke and not just a dream. He'd talked to Sasuke more in the dream than he ever had in all the years he'd known him in real life and to see him now was a little bizarre. It was almost like having a distant penpal you hadn't seen in years who'd you'd shared everything with, only to have them show up on your doorstep one day without warning. This almost stranger who knew every little thing about you. Okay, so it wasn't totally like that. He'd seen Sasuke in the dreams and Sasuke wasn't really a stranger, but he still got the feeling of a stranger on his doorstep who knew every little dark secret about him. He supposed it didn't really need to make sense to him, it was just how he felt.

When Sasuke finally did open bleary eyes, Naruto was both relieved and nervous. He was relieved because Sasuke seemed okay, but nervous about what was to come. But that could wait, he had a lot more pressing concerns right now.

"Ah good morning," Naruto began.

Sasuke grunted something he didn't quite catch, but he didn't want to waste time getting Sasuke to repeat himself.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better, more than glad. But I gotta go pee before my bladder explodes."

When he returned to the room, Sasuke was half sitting up in bed trying to unscrew the lid off Naruto's water canteen one-handed. Naruto walked over and took it off him, unscrewed it for him and handed it back before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Sasuke took a few deep swallows before handing it back and looked at Naruto for a moment like his friend was a taxing puzzle he was trying to solve.

"You came," Sasuke eventually said. His voice still sounded a little soft but it had a strength back to it that it had lacked when he'd first woken up.

"Of course. Did you doubt me?"

"No, I guess not."

"How do you feel?"

Sasuke raised and eyebrow at the stupid question just as Naruto realised how it sounded.

"Of course you aren't okay," Naruto answered himself. "It'll probably take you days to recover. But hey Sasuke, do you mind if I…I mean…can I stay while you do? I mean you're pretty weak right now, even you have to realise you might need help."

Sasuke didn't answer him directly. He just moved over in the bed and dragged Naruto back to lay beside him. He lacked the strength to really accomplish anything much, but it wasn't like Naruto was resisting. So Naruto lay on his back with Sasuke's warmth pressed up against his side, chin resting on his shoulder and an arm slung over his midsection while Sasuke went back to sleep.

Naruto spent a happier and far more comfortable five more hours laying in bed with Sasuke before the Uchiha stirred again and mumbled something about wanting more water.

Naruto silently reached down beside the bed, grabbed the bottle and uncapped it for him before passing it across to Sasuke who was braced up on an elbow on his side while he took a few long mouthfuls. After he was done he looked down at Naruto for a few silent moments more before saying,

"You said something about food."

"Oh, right!" Naruto sat up and grabbed the bag he'd bought and riffled through it till he found the bundles of crackers, dried fish and fruit he'd bought with him. Sasuke accepted one of the crackers and sat up to eat, biting off small pieces and chewing carefully before swallowing.

"You need to sleep too," Sasuke told him after he'd swallowed a few mouthfuls.

"I will. I forgot those potions though."

"I'll stay awake while you sleep," Sasuke told him.

"Okay, but I'm not so tired yet, I can stay awake for a while if you still need to sleep."

"I'm fine."

So Naruto lay back down next to where Sasuke was sitting and closed his eyes. He'd travelled non-stop since leaving Konoha and hadn't slept since he'd last dreamt so he'd been lying when he said he wasn't tired.

He felt the reassuring pressure of Sasuke's hand on his shoulder just before he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>He woke again later still on his back with Sasuke sitting beside him and yawned widely.<p>

"Wow, I totally zonked didn't I?"

"Yes. I need a shower."

Well top points for Sasuke still not showing any emotion. So far he'd managed to keep his voice totally flat and not spoken at all unless necessary not counting the first thing he'd said upon waking. It was a little weird.

"Uh, okay. You want help?"

"No."

Naruto got up and moved while Sasuke slid himself to the edge of the bed and then attempted to find his feet. He was clearly still feeling a bit weak and Naruto watched him for a full minute before deciding to just go ahead and help anyway.

Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and then supported to the bathroom where Naruto sat him down on the toilet and then knelt in front of him in order to begin taking off his shirt.

Sasuke watched him blandly for a moment before saying, "My hands still work you know."

Naruto blushed furiously and stopped what he was doing. "Sorry, I'm a bit nervous."

"I know. You don't have to stay."

"But I want to," Naruto replied immediately looking up at him. Sasuke nodded and started taking off his shirt. And despite nerves and whatever else, Naruto helped out by undoing the knot at his waist and helping him out of his pants. Sasuke gave him a look but didn't tell him to stop.

Naruto tried not to stare while more of Sasuke was revealed. After all, he figured it was a little sick to be checking out your ill friend while you were helping to look after him. But he couldn't help it. He'd seen a lot of naked Sasuke in his dreams and he was curious to see if he looked exactly the same or not. He certainly smelt a lot worse after being asleep for three straight days, but he looked almost exactly like Naruto remembered from the dreams. A tad more undernourished, but still breathtakingly good.

He quickly stripped himself and started up the shower, pleased to discover the place still had hot water. When it was running a nice lukewarm temperature he helped Sasuke to his feet and under the spray. He got Sasuke to brace himself, arms straight out against the wall while Naruto went about washing him down. To Naruto's ongoing surprise there was a small bottle of some sweet smelling liquid Naruto took to be soap so he uncapped it and worked it into a lather between his hands. Sasuke must have brought this stuff with him when he came. Naruto wondered if Sasuke had planned on spending a few days here by himself while he dreamed every night with Naruto. It was a warming thought that he'd gone to so much trouble if that was the case.

When his hands were covered in suds he spent a lot of time spreading the soap over Sasuke's back, rubbing the probably sore muscles as he went, focussing on the job at hand rather than letting his mind realise just what he was feeling lest his body start to respond improperly. Naruto felt guilty about how hard it was though. Sasuke's skin felt nice and smooth as he ran his soaped up hands across his back, very quickly over his ass and down the backs of his legs.

He then spread some more soap into Sasuke's hair and worked it through, massaging it in and feeling the wet strands slide through his fingers as he washed the soap out again.

He ducked underneath Sasuke's arm to start on the front and found Sasuke regarding him coolly, those dark eyes watching him steadily. He just started to rub soap over Sasuke's chest and arms when he saw Sasuke's eyes flick down toward Naruto's groin before flicking back up and raising an eyebrow at him.

He wasn't hard, not totally, but it was obvious he was a little turned on.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered going a little red. "I can't help it."

Sasuke didn't reply and Naruto continued to soap him over. He worked his way down Sasuke's chest to the tops of his legs, skipping a spot and finished his legs and feet. When he stood back up Sasuke was still watching him.

"Thank you, very thorough. But you missed a spot."

Was Sasuke teasing him? No way! Sasuke had been acting pretty coolly about the whole thing, it was strange that he might start to tease him about it now.

"Well, I thought you might want to, you know, handle that yourself."

"I'd rather you handle it."

Well if Sasuke wasn't teasing him, he was testing him. Well fine. Naruto just nodded put some more soap in his hand and reached down to slide his hand down below Sasuke's waist, ghosting his hand over his groin before sliding it back up the crease of his leg before repeating on the other side. But procrastinating wouldn't last forever so he ran his cupped hand slowly down Sasuke's length making sure to soap everywhere in between and underneath before drawing his fingers away again.

He hadn't been able to help but watch what he was doing, but now that he was finished his eyes flicked back up to meet Sasuke's.

"All-"

But Sasuke had leaned forward to kiss him. Trapped as he was between Sasuke's arms, Sasuke himself and the wall there was nothing to do but stand there and take it. Not that he minded. Not at all.

His mind kept reminding him that this was real flesh and blood Sasuke kissing him right now. It wasn't a dream, it was really him and he tasted and felt more incredible than ever to Naruto in that moment.

Naruto wrapped his hands around Sasuke's waist and kissed him back eagerly. He pressed their bodies together and ran his hands once more over the slick wet and still slightly soapy skin of Sasuke's back while the front half of him got to feel the same thing against his own skin. Slippery warm skin sliding against his, it was amazing.

He started to feel the slightest tremors through body in his arms though and made himself remember that Sasuke was still really weak and probably wasn't getting better the longer he was made to stand there. Naruto drew away first, sucking in a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"You'd better wash off and get back to bed," Naruto suggested.

"With you."

"Sasuke, you can barely stand right now."

"It wasn't a question."

Well there was his answer, Sasuke might look perfectly serious, but he was teasing him after all. Naruto smiled, he couldn't help it, it made him think that perhaps dream Sasuke and real Sasuke weren't so different after all. But then again, Sasuke didn't exactly smile back either.

"C'mon teme, let's get you dried off."

* * *

><p>Naruto spent a relatively pleasant few days with Sasuke in the hideout. Every day Sasuke looked healthier, he ate more and slept less. They took it in shifts sleeping so they could give each other dreamless nights and at first it was mainly Sasuke sleeping while Naruto watched over him. But gradually the times between watching each other sleep lessened till they both took turns equally sleeping and were then able to spend at least eight hours a day more or less together.<p>

On the third day, they walked slowly up to the surface so Sasuke could get some fresh air which was a huge accomplishment on Sasuke's part, but they rarely talked which was mainly on Naruto, who was too nervous about what was going to happen when Sasuke got better to keep up a good conversation. In the dreams it had been mainly Naruto who had talked anyway and without his input their times together were unusually silent.

They hadn't kissed again, but they shared Sasuke's bed, at least to sleep in. Generally one would sit up or lay down beside the one who was sleeping, hands clasped or just merely touching to keep the disruption to the chakra flow continuous.

They never talked about what was going to happen later and Naruto wondered whether it was because Sasuke was as anxious about it as he was or because Sasuke already knew what was going to happen and just didn't want to deal with it yet.

On the fourth day Sasuke was looking pretty much back to normal and there was the pressing concern that soon they would run out of food if they didn't leave. They had maybe two days left of supplies before they would be forced to move on and it was making Naruto even more anxious.

The Sasuke from his dreams had been so different than the one who'd told him he was going to die at the river that day after almost killing Sakura. Well maybe the Sasuke from the forest had been the same, but as time wore on he'd met this serene almost contented Sasuke once they'd gotten to the field. Naruto was saddened to discover _that_ Sasuke, while still sometimes present, often got overtaken by a moody morose Sasuke who was sometimes difficult to deal with. He might not seem quite as demented as the last time they'd met, but there was a darkness that came over him sometimes that made Naruto's skin crawl.

He tried not to believe that Sasuke might have been right, that the dreams were the only way they could communicate without the pressure of the real world intruding, but seeing Sasuke now, the dark eyes filled with deep anger, that mouth he'd kissed so much unsmiling now in this world, he was starting to think that maybe Sasuke wasn't completely wrong. And it pained him so much to see that. All he'd wanted was the real thing and now he had it, he found that maybe it hadn't been the thing he'd been dreaming about all this time.

Sasuke was presently asleep and Naruto was laying next to him staring at the ceiling instead. He remembered all those times staring at the ceiling in his apartment wishing that Sasuke would be right there next to him when he woke up so he wouldn't feel that lonely ache he got from missing him in the waking world. But now that he had it, despite Sasuke's moods and his own misgivings about why he was here, it hurt even more thinking he might lose it again.

Sasuke stirred beside him before waking up fully and stretching. He hadn't known Sasuke did that before now. Every time he woke up now he would yawn and stretch reminding Naruto of a cat waking up from a nap.

How could he not see that anymore? The simple bliss of waking up next to a warm body seeing all the little ticks that make that person so special to you. How was he going to live without it?

He turned over then and wrapped an arm around Sasuke's waist, drawing them both together so he could rest his forehead against Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke's body went stiff at the sudden embrace, but eventually he pat Naruto's shoulder in what Sasuke probably thought was a comforting gesture.

"What's wrong with you?"

"A lot."

"No kidding."

Naruto raised his head and kissed that bland expression away till he felt Sasuke settle against him ever closer still and begin to kiss him back. It was a desperate sort of hungry kiss on Naruto's part, but Sasuke seemed to go with it until it became apparent that rubbing up against each other wasn't going to cut it for him anymore and he rolled them both over till he was laying on top of Naruto without managing to break the kiss once.

Naruto felt the weight of Sasuke against him enjoying the little things that had been missing from the dream. As far as this stuff was concerned there were a few barely notable things that the dreams didn't have, but real life did. Sasuke always looked and felt the same in the dreams. Flawless skin, smooth to the touch, soft silky hair and he always smelt vaguely of kanran orchids* for some unknown reason. In real life Sasuke had scars, his skin wasn't entirely smooth, his hair while still soft to touch had a tendency to get just a little oily when he didn't wash it for several days and he didn't smell at all like an orchid flower. At the moment he smelt a little like someone who had just slept for six hours in a room that was a little warmer than strictly comfortable. But this was better. It took the unreal quality away of a dream person and all of these differences reinforced the feeling of having and holding someone who was real, alive, and it was a lot more exciting than anything previous.

Of course all this meant it was a lot more nerve wracking than anything previous and as he felt Sasuke's hands slip up underneath his shirt he wondered whether anything in the dream world had counted at all or whether he was technically still a virgin. Well he sure felt like one right about now. Sasuke must have felt that he was shaking just a bit, but didn't seem to pay it any attention. All that seemed to matter to him was that he was being kissed, hands were in his hair and on his bare back and Naruto wasn't pulling away from him. But Naruto didn't want him to stop anyway. It was a little late to start thinking about how hurt he would be if Sasuke decided that when the food ran out that they were enemies again.

And it _was_ too late, he was in love with Sasuke and he would feel better knowing he'd had this moment now before the inevitable happened later.

Sasuke helped him pull off his shirt then sat back up practically tearing both their pants off before leaning back over Naruto. Naruto grabbed the back of his neck and pulled their lips together once more and he felt the warm thrill as their heated skin came into contact. Both boys actually groaned into each other's mouth at that point, the simultaneous noises making them both smile against each other's lips for a moment before Sasuke moved and the friction made them focus once more on other things.

Previously Sasuke's hand had been clasped tightly on his hip, but now he moved his body away slightly so he could reach in between them and curl his fingers around Naruto's hardness. Naruto broke the kiss as he groaned, his head falling back as Sasuke instead latched his lips onto that newly exposed throat. Naruto felt a tongue slide up his neck before it moved to suck hard on the skin there.

Real life was a lot more overwhelming than the dreams too, the feelings and sensations a lot more acute in real life. It was almost too much. But then Sasuke's hand let go of him and he looked up in time to see two of Sasuke's fingers emerge from his mouth only to disappear between them once more. He felt those fingers gently massage around the sensitive skin of his hole before his lips were captured once more. Just as he felt a tongue force its way into his mouth he felt a finger enter him. He moaned in the back of his throat while that tongue and finger continued their explorations. A second finger joined the first after a while and he felt himself being stretched.

These sensations were a little different too. Sure it had been a weird sensation before, but there was a fair bit more discomfort than before and a bit of stinging pain that he wasn't entirely used to. But as it went on and Sasuke started to stretch out his muscles, it wasn't so much of an issue. The fingers were removed for a moment before he felt them come back, wetter, rubbing around his hole, coating it. Then Sasuke shifted and he felt something larger than fingers prod him and he sucked in a quick breath.

Sasuke stopped kissing him and instead leant his forehead against Naruto's while the pair breathed for a second, eyes closed. Naruto wasn't sure what the delay was and thought that maybe Sasuke was either losing his nerve (soooo unlikely) or perhaps waiting for some kind of go ahead. But this is what Sasuke did, he always made sure in the dreams. And Naruto felt a swelling hope that Sasuke wasn't so different than his dream persona after all.

"Sasuke, don't stop."

Sasuke nodded and Naruto felt him press forward. The stinging was worse this time and it made him hiss through his teeth. Sure the dream hadn't been entirely pain free in this regard, but it was a hazy sort of detached pain that Naruto had been able to mostly ignore.

At the hiss, Sasuke's eyes had snapped open and he'd stopped momentarily. They locked gazes before Sasuke pushed in further. This time Naruto grit his teeth and didn't utter a sound not wanting Sasuke to stop again for anything. He heard a moan above him so he wrapped his legs around Sasuke and shifted pulling Sasuke the rest of the way in.

Sasuke groaned again at the unexpected move and he stayed still for a moment before whispering, "Evil, dobe."

Hearing his unflattering nickname in a situation like this caused Naruto to smile a little at Sasuke's flushed face, but then Sasuke started to move and Naruto lost his smile to sensation.

The stinging gradually lessened and then all he became aware of was Sasuke moving against him, inside him and lips against his. Sasuke moved languidly, his lips mirroring the movements of his hips, for once not seeming to be in a great rush. But then Sasuke raised himself up a little on his braced hands, breaking the kiss and Naruto groaned loudly as Sasuke hit his sweet spot. Hearing that seemed to make him pick up the pace, hitting the spot repeatedly until Naruto began to tighten around him. The friction of his cock in between their bodies, the sensation was all too much.

He came a few moments before Sasuke's head rolled back and he released as well. All the energy seemed to drain out of him after that and he collapsed forward onto Naruto, head against his chest while he breathed raggedly for a while.

"Your heart is beating so fast," Sasuke told him after a moment when he regained the breath to speak again. "I don't remember that from the dream."

So Naruto hadn't been the only one comparing. But had Sasuke come up with the same conclusion, did he think this was an improvement or not? Certainly Sasuke had called real life 'complicated' with a kind of distaste usually reserved for people describing hell on earth so it seemed unlikely that this was an improvement for him.

"Is that a good thing?" Naruto asked feeling the tickle of Sasuke's hair against his chest every time he breathed and knowing that after this, the dreams would never be the same.

"It's…this is…better."

Sasuke couldn't see him but Naruto smiled.

"But stickier," Sasuke continued with a smirk in his voice.

Naruto picked up the pillow next to him and smacked Sasuke with it.

"You're like the master of ruining a moment, you know that?"

Sasuke hadn't moved when Naruto had hit him but he felt Sasuke's hands curl up against his sides.

He didn't sound quite so amused though as he replied, "Yeah, I know."

TBC

_*Kanran Orchid or _Cymbidium Kanran (cold orchid)_ has a sweet but citrusy, even slightly musky scent. The variety I've seen has small, pale green flowers with dark red spots on the tip and dark red splashes of colour in the centre running outwards. *shrugs* entertainment mixed with learning, isn't it fun?_

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Gee can anyone spot Dash's shower fetish? Yep, I'm weird, but you all knew that haha. And yay, happy fun sex times! And here I kept shying away from these scenes in past chapters. But if you stuck with it this far here is your reward with some not particularly graphic sex :) Worth the wait? And besides, how could I let their first time together in real life go without some description at least? And oh, some sweetness in there too. <em>

_So are things looking grim or better at the moment? Hard choice. They just had a happy moment, but then in a couple of days decisions will need to be made and Naruto has a strong feeling things will not be as happy for him then. Hmmm, ambivalent story moment. You'll just have to wait and see what happens!_

_Oh and because of the delay of getting chapter 11 out I tried to get this one out quicker but please be patient with chapter 13 because honestly by this point I'm usually three quarters of the way through the next chapter but no such luck this time because it's giving me a bit of trouble. So hang in there you might have to wait the promised two weeks before the next update but I'll try to get it done faster than that if I can._

_Dash._

_Unsigned Reviews and comments:_

_ – first love the name. Second no thanks are necessary, I think if I didn't have them meet in real life soon I might have been dodging flames lol. So hopefully the exciting first chapter of them spending time together in real life was worth the wait and I hope you enjoyed it :)_

_Yu-chan – wow I made two days with one chapter, yay! Well I'll guesstimate at this point and say there will be two or maybe three more chapters after this one so not long to go now. _

_Hahah, blacky the nightmare monster. You don't know how tempted I was to use that name in chapter after I read it just to give you a giggle lol. And yeah don't think blacky is gone for good just yet…_


	13. Dreams About Illumination in the Desert

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 3**

**Chapter 2 (13)**

**Dreams About Illumination in the Desert.**

Tomorrow they would need to leave the hideout and Naruto had noticed a sullenness come over Sasuke that had been a little unexpected. You wouldn't think that the guy had just been laid, that was for sure, and as confident and relaxed as he had seemed at the time, he hadn't responded at all the next few times Naruto had touched him and it was beginning to get on Naruto's nerves in more ways than one.

Naruto knew what was coming and didn't want to waste a moment longer now that it seemed Sasuke was well and fit again, and the fact that Sasuke didn't seem to want to really be near him again made him not only angry, but worried as well.

Sasuke probably figured he was some great enigma that nobody could possibly understand, but Naruto was getting good at figuring him out now. Back when they'd last met at this place Sasuke had talked about breaking any bonds that might hold him back and concentrating on his goals, and the hateful bond he'd thought he'd shared with his brother at the time. So he hadn't wanted any other bonds that might weaken him or his resolve in other words and he most probably saw Naruto now as one of those weak bonds. They would part ways soon so Sasuke was closing himself off and protecting himself from anything that might make him weak or soft. But it annoyed the ever-living shit out of Naruto that Sasuke would, even now, think that way. It was selfish and stupid, and after he'd simply put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder only to have the latter brush him off he'd snapped and told Sasuke so.

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't get as angry as Naruto imagined he would.

"This is why I didn't want us to meet up. It won't be today, but someday we will fight and one of us will die," Sasuke told him. "Do you really want to face that with confusing memories and emotions."

Okay so maybe it wasn't only himself he was protecting and perhaps he was trying to protect Naruto too. It helped his angry mood simmer down a bit.

"Well at least you aren't just telling me _I'm_ going to be the one to die anymore. That's a little bit more optimistic."

But even Naruto could tell that this probably wasn't the moment for jokes. Sasuke had almost recovered and while even Sasuke had probably seen it as pretty novel for them to be spending time together in the real world where they weren't trying to physically hurt one another, reality had to step in at some point and Sasuke obviously wasn't particularly amused by the current state of that reality.

"You're the one that wanted to meet. And now you have to face the reality of that decision."

"Wasn't like it was much of a decision in the end, was it?" Naruto asked sitting down opposite Sasuke on the floor who was currently sitting on his bed. "It was either this or let you die."

"It would have been easier for you if you had."

"Is that what you really think?" Naruto asked surprised. "You really think I care more about making it easier for myself than how much I care about you?"

Sasuke had used to seem pleased when Naruto reminded him that he cared about him. Like he was reaffirming what Sasuke's demented mind had refused to believe before the dreams. Now he winced a little.

"I'm not saying you would have wanted that. I'm just stating what is in your best interests."

"Well it's not," Naruto told him bluntly.

"Whatever, _I'm_ not interested much with your stubborn attitude. We have more pressing concerns. We can't keep sleeping with one watching over the other just in case we slip back into the dream."

"Why not?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes like Naruto's childish naivety was finally starting to grate on him.

"Because we're not going to be together forever, dobe!"

_That_ hurt. It was one thing to know what was coming; it was another thing for Sasuke to say something like that to him. It wasn't any information he didn't already know, but it hurt anyway.

Sasuke's look softened for a split second when he saw the hurt on Naruto's face, but he hardened it again almost immediately.

"Before we go our separate ways, we need to find a way to get rid of the dream for good," Sasuke continued.

Well, _this_ was news. Sasuke had been so adamant in the past that he was never quitting the dreams but now he'd changed his tune. Of course being hunted, tied up and tortured might have helped that decision along a bit.

"So this is really it?" Naruto asked softly. "After this we won't see each other again until the end?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand how you can be so cool about this. I feel like half of my heart is being ripped out."

He hadn't meant to share so much, but then when would he get another opportunity like this? So let Sasuke sneer at him, let him say he's weak and a burden and all the rest, so long as he knew the truth in the end.

"I can be like this because I need to be," Sasuke replied just as softly.

"Okay, fine," Naruto said briskly rubbing at his cheek before Sasuke noticed why. "But I have a better idea about how to deal with the dreams. We go back in there, defeat the monster and then we don't have to…" But Naruto knew it was wrong before he finished. He'd promised Sakura that once Sasuke was safe he'd stop. Going in again was not against his promise. After all, while the monster was still in his dreams, Sasuke was not technically safe yet. But after that threat was neutralised, he would be going against his promise, which he didn't want to do.

"It's not such a bad idea," Sasuke said after a moment.

"No, forget it," Naruto said changing his mind. "The dreams are obviously still dangerous. Just because we kill the monster, it doesn't mean it might not come back. It's responsible for everything in the dreams, I don't even think we can kill it."

"That's true. But I wasn't thinking about that, I was thinking about getting some answers from it. After you left that last time it took all my strength to fend the thing off and make good my escape. On our own we couldn't defeat it, but together, both fit and able, we would have a better chance to get some answers."

"You want to team up?" Naruto asked with a sad sort of smile.

"Yes. We go in together, get the answers we need to stop the dream and it will be over. This is something we need each other for."

Naruto nodded. It wasn't the best outcome, but he'd liked the way Sasuke had said 'together' like that.

"Okay, let's do it."

* * *

><p>A little later Sasuke and Naruto were seated on the bed, facing one another, legs crossed beneath them, eyes closed and apparently concentrating. Well, Sasuke was, Naruto was trying.<p>

Sasuke must have sensed him beginning to draw in nature energy and as swiftly as a snake reaching across to strike, smacked the side of Naruto's head before going straight back to his original pose.

"Stop that. You're not trying to draw in energy, you're supposed to be trying to visualise," Sasuke reminded him without opening his eyes.

"Somehow the training seems really similar though," Naruto grumbled rubbing the side of his head and glaring at his friend's blank expression. "I can't help it, I just sort of do it without thinking now. And besides, how do you know I'm not doing exactly what you're telling me to. You can't see what's going on inside my head."

"Yes I can."

Naruto's eyes widened at that as he stared at Sasuke at shock. Right up until the point where Sasuke cracked open one eye and his mouth tipped up into a half smile.

"Bastard! Don't make jokes like that!"

"You're so gullible," Sasuke chided him.

But Naruto couldn't stay mad for long. Sasuke was sort of smiling at him and it was getting to be such a rare sight out here in the real world, that Naruto was too happy to see it to stay mad for too long.

"You know I can't really train properly out here don't you? How do I even know if what I'm doing will work when we go to sleep?"

"If you follow my instructions it will work," Sasuke told him confidently, closing his eyes once more. "We must assume my powers of dream manipulation will still be blocked so you need to know how to do this. You can't test it out here, but once you are inside the dream and you do exactly what you have practised you should be able to start creating things on your own just like I did with the tree."

"You know if you weren't such a control freak the first time around I would have learnt this stuff ages ago," Naruto reminded him.

"Shut up and concentrate, dobe."

Naruto did shut up for a moment, but he didn't go back to concentrating. He continued to watch Sasuke's face, the cool, calm and unworried expression made Sasuke look just like dream Sasuke again.

"But Sasuke, how can you be so sure you can rely on me? It might be dangerous and I-"

It wasn't like Naruto to question himself so much. But this was different. This time he had another person, a person he cared about very deeply relying on him. It made him nervous to think that if he screwed up Sasuke might be hurt or worse, die because of him.

"You've always surprised me in the past by what you are able to accomplish. You will get this, I have complete faith in that."

Sasuke couldn't know that what he had just said made such an impact. The complete trust and confidence he showed was more of an expression of their close bond than anything they had said or done since the dreams began. And now Naruto was left staring speechlessly at his friend as though Sasuke had just told him that he wanted to have his babies.

Before Sasuke could open his eyes again and reprimand him for not concentrating, Naruto leaned forward without hesitation until their lips touched softly against one another. He heard and felt Sasuke's first muffled 'oomph' but after a few moments of staying perfectly still Sasuke started to respond moving his lips against Naruto's. He seemed to sigh in resignation before reaching up and twining his fingers through the back of Naruto's hair. Taking this as a good sign, Naruto began to push forward, but Sasuke put his other hand against Naruto's chest and gently, but firmly pushed him away.

Naruto stared into those dark eyes inches away from his own, waiting for an explanation as Sasuke stared back.

"It only makes it worse," Sasuke told him.

Naruto frowned, "That didn't seem to bother you the other night."

"I didn't realise that I would…" But Sasuke wouldn't finish. He just sort of shook his head and made to move away, but Naruto had reached his limit of Sasuke's hate of sharing and pushed him backwards, moving to pin both of Sasuke's wrists above his head before he could move too far and hovering above him with a mildly angry expression on his face.

"Finish what you were saying, I want to hear this. And no more dodging, no more changing the subject. After I woke you up you were all for teasing me and tempting me and after you finally got what you wanted you don't want to be touched anymore. Don't tell me it's because we'll go our separate ways soon, because you knew that from the beginning. What the hell was so different from all those times we did that in our dreams that made you back off now?"

"Get off me dobe," Sasuke said warningly.

"No! Talk to me!"

Sasuke was exerting pressure against him but he wasn't a match for the way Naruto had him pinned, hands restrained and legs held down by Naruto's own.

"What difference will it make, what the hell will change?"

"It'll make a difference to me. We could both die Sasuke, I need to know, even if nothing ever changes."

"Get off me!"

"No! Tell me!"

Sasuke didn't respond, he just kept struggling against Naruto, his face getting more flushed and angry looking with each failed attempt.

"Tell me." Naruto persisted.

Sasuke tried to buck him off but it didn't work.

"It was too real! I don't want you to die!" Sasuke yelled into his face.

Naruto lost the angry look as his face paled at the admission. He stayed quiet while Sasuke continued to yell at him.

"In the dream I could make believe that it didn't change the real world, that we could be together for a while and it didn't matter, no matter how attached I got, no matter what I felt while I was there. It was separate, a different part of me and it wasn't real. But when I heard your heart beating last night I knew it wasn't the same, everything had changed by meeting just like I knew it would and if I didn't distance myself I wouldn't be able to…I couldn't…"

"Kill me?" Naruto asked quietly.

A muscle jumped in Sasuke's jaw as he clenched and unclenched his teeth. "I didn't realise how weak the dreams were making me. I wanted to know if real life would feel the same as soon as I saw you after I'd woken up here. But it wasn't the same, I couldn't make believe it meant nothing anymore. Fucking hell Naruto, I knew this would happen! It was stupid to think otherwise!"

"It wasn't stupid," Naruto told him. "Caring for someone doesn't make you weak, it makes you strong. I would never have become what I have if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard if it wasn't for you."

"What works for you doesn't work for everyone."

"_Make_ it work for you," Naruto urged him.

Sasuke sighed and stopped resisting Naruto's hold on him. "So naive."

"And sometimes that works for me too," Naruto said smiling softly. "Sasuke, do you love me?"

Sasuke blinked at the sudden question and it took him a few moments for the shock to wear off. "And hearing the answer to that will make this better for you?"

"Only if you tell the truth. So, do you?"

Sasuke closed his eyes as though he was annoyed at himself for even contemplating answering before replying.

"Yes."

So there it was. All of his worrying about how Sasuke felt had been unfounded in the end. Sasuke did love him, he did care about him and he didn't want to kill him after all. And all it had taken was a few rounds of dreaming, sharing, fucking and fighting off scary shadow monsters to get the admission to surface.

So that's when Naruto kissed him again. A warm soft touch of lips against his, moving against his and it felt more wonderful somehow than before. Even when he felt quick flick of a tongue sliding against his bottom lip before that lip was sucked into Sasuke's mouth for the briefest moments before being bitten rather harshly. He tasted a little blood but Sasuke was still sucking on the lip he had bitten.

When Sasuke released his mouth Naruto drew away and gave him a knowing look.

"You're still angry."

"You think?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"You know I feel the same way about you, don't you?"

"Yes."

"You're angry that you feel something for me," Naruto guessed.

"Yes."

"So you didn't want me to kiss you?"

Sasuke glared at him. "I did."

"And that pissed you off more?"

"Yes."

Sasuke might look angry but Naruto wasn't really buying that Sasuke was angry with him. Sasuke got pissed off with himself and then he took it out on other people. But even Sasuke was admitting he wanted this, even when it went against what he felt he should want. He might hate having these feelings but he had them and he was admitting to them so he couldn't be all that annoyed.

"If I kiss you again will you bite me?"

Sasuke was still trying to glare at him but a corner of his mouth twitched up which told Naruto he'd at least started to make peace with those feelings too.

"Probably."

"What if I asked you not to?"

"Then I definitely will."

Naruto decided to take his chances. He kissed him again and although during the next ten minutes or so of making out Sasuke did bite him once near the very beginning, he didn't do it again afterwards and Naruto felt confident enough to stop holding his hands down and let him go. This way he was able to press their bodies together a little more and he even felt Sasuke hands snake around his sides before resting low against his back, pressing them together tighter still.

Naruto drew back again and smiled in earnest. "See was that so hard?"

"Yes," Sasuke bit out.

Naruto laughed softly and rolled off Sasuke to lie on the bed beside him. "I can see why you'd think so. Getting you to talk is like a workout or something."

Sasuke rolled over and placed his palm over Naruto's heart as though being reminded of what had made it all so real to him actually made him feel better.

"Despite your optimistic attitude you can't change your fate just by wishing it."

"Shows how much you know. But you're right about one thing. First we face the monster, and then we face what happens next. Together."

"Unless you suddenly feel like letting me squash the leaf village I can't see that happening. I don't want to kill you, but you'll try to stop me."

"Isn't there anything more important to you than doing that?"

"No. I'm sorry, there isn't."

"I didn't think so. Well hopefully before we part, if we live through the dream, you can gain some perspective."

Sasuke didn't look convinced, but he didn't look to against trying either.

"Okay."

* * *

><p>They appeared in the dream back to back, already in their fighting stances, ready for action. But from the very first moment they arrived, they knew something had changed again. They weren't in the skeletal woods anymore, they were in a desert for one thing. It was still nighttime but Naruto could see they had appeared next to an old ruin that was half fallen down and covered up by the shifting desert sand.<p>

Overhead he could see countless stars shining down on them and a crescent moon that seemed to be emitting a lot more silvery light than it should normally have been capable of. It wasn't hard to see his surroundings but obviously not even half as much as they would be able to see if it were daylight.

Despite being in the middle of a desert though, Naruto couldn't help but think the scenery was very beautiful.

"Hey Sasuke, is this better?" he asked stupidly.

"Yes. But we aren't alone."

Naruto risked glancing over his shoulder at what Sasuke was looking at. From inside the darkness of a gaping hole in the ruins Naruto could see two red glowing eyes watching them.

"What's it doing?"

"Watching us," Sasuke replied though understandably confused as well.

The monster had always been more of an 'attack first talk later' kind of being.

"Maybe it's afraid," Naruto said hopefully.

"I doubt it," Sasuke replied realistically.

"Can you use chakra or do anything?" Naruto asked hoping Sasuke's abilities had somehow magically returned against all odds just when he might really need them.

"No," Sasuke replied after a moment, his eyes never leaving the twin red orbs staring at them. "It will be difficult to fight in this sand."

"Why isn't it coming for us?"

"Because it isn't stupid," Sasuke informed him tersely. "It must know we wouldn't risk coming back here without a plan."

"Ah, right. Is this where you tell me to do nothing to provoke it?"

"No dobe. By all means, let's get this started."

Naruto turned back to face forwards and closed his eyes. He'd practised this so much with Sasuke before coming here, the concentration, picturing what he wanted in his mind that even with the threat of the monster hanging over his head he was able to slip into the right mindset in moments.

He held out his cupped hand in front of him and concentrating fiercely on what he wanted, he placed his other hand next to it and slowly drew them away from each other. The sound that resulted was like a sword being unsheathed, which was appropriate because the item that Naruto was left holding when he again opened his eyes looked like an exact replica of Sasuke's katana.

But he had managed to provoke the monster as expected and it came charging out of the darkness toward them in a rush causing them both to scatter away from each other.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto in time to catch his thrown sword by the hilt just before Naruto had to duck and roll away from a fast swipe by the thing's claws.

It was back in its cat like form and had apparently decided that Naruto was the bigger threat of the two because it went after him doggedly. Naruto was too preoccupied in dodging and trying not to let the thing get too close that he didn't have a moment to fight back. He'd backed up so much that he was almost inside the ruins now. He picked up a piece of fallen rock off the ground and hurled it at the monster hoping to give himself a moment of reprieve but to his shock and near panic the rock just sailed right through the monster to smack into the sand behind it with a heavy thump.

He had been so sure he would hit the thing he was a little too slow to prevent a swipe across his middle. He twisted to the side to avoid it but the thing still managed to cut a deep furrow into his side making him cry out and fall back.

That was when he saw an extremely angry looking Sasuke behind the monster, readying to strike. Now he was panicking. He was on the ground, the monster poised above him to finish him off and Sasuke's attack would probably just miss like the rock had. Sasuke was just putting himself in danger by attempting to help him. But before Naruto could warn him off, Sasuke struck, driving his blade into it's back.

The thing howled and spun to face the threat, a claw out and ready to take Sasuke's head off but Sasuke had retreated a little and was readying his next attack.

So obviously the only thing that could hurt the monster were the weapons that Naruto created. Well, that gave him plenty of ideas.

Getting over his shock, Naruto rolled away and got to his feet just in time to sprint out of harm's reach as the monster turned back to finish him off.

Thanks to Sasuke he managed to escape without further injury but the fight wasn't over yet. In the dream Naruto couldn't draw on nature energy, even the Kyuubi seemed not to be able to reach him here. These were both facts he knew before coming in, but it still disturbed him to realise how much he relied on them now.

Instead he made himself a kunai and got ready for the next attack. On the opposite side of the beast, Sasuke was doing the same thing and the monster didn't seem to know which way to go first.

Naruto was obviously the more long-term threat but Sasuke was more of an immediate threat because of the sword that could hurt it coupled with the fact that Sasuke was the uninjured one. So it seemed to make a decision and leapt for Sasuke who dodged to the side, throwing out his sword as the thing flashed past him. The monster roared as the katana touched it's left leg and went down in a rolling heap past Sasuke.

Naruto closed his eyes once more and concentrated on the ground beneath the monster willing the ground to do what he wanted. He opened his eyes in time to see the ground drop out beneath the monster but it had just been about to jump away and made it out of Naruto's trap in time.

Sasuke swung at the monster as it came toward him again but it jumped back just in time. Naruto who had been relying on this reaction let fly with his kunai hitting the thing in the ribs making it howl loudly.

Naruto made another kunai and joined Sasuke as Sasuke stalked the rapidly retreating monster across the sand. It's head swung between the both of them waiting to see which one of them would make the first move.

What it didn't seem to expect was that both Naruto and Sasuke moved as one. Just as Naruto concentrated on putting up a wall of sand behind the monster Sasuke darted forward swinging his sword so fast it whistled in the night air. The monster went to jump back but it hit the wall that had sprung up behind it allowing Sasuke's blade to cut deep across its neck.

It tried to roar again but the sound didn't come out right and it slumped to the ground in a heap of blackness that had no shape to it anymore. Next to him Sasuke was breathing deeply glaring at the thing as though daring it to move again.

There was some movement there but it was not what either of them expected. The blackness, now without form, swirled up as though it were a mini tornado, making their pants flap around their legs and their hair fly. But they stood their ground, even when the thing spoke.

"You can't kill me."

"No," Naruto told it defiantly, "But we can make you wish we could."

"We want answers," Sasuke told it.

The air seemed to sigh. "Why not? I have seen what I wanted to see. You can have your answers."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

The blackness started to take shape again. Both of them watched closely, ready for some kind of trick. But nothing was forthcoming. It continued to form until both Naruto and Sasuke could see a new shape, a person, someone who they both recognised very well.

A figure stood before them, a man with black hair and red sharingan eyes.

Both of their eyes widened in shock.

"What the fuck?"

"Um…Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly after a few moments of staring as the Uchiha opposite them stared back with a profound smirk.

"This has got be some trick," Sasuke muttered.

"No trick, why bother?" was the reply. "I have you both exactly where I wanted you from the beginning. Think of our fight just now as a test of your resolve."

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed a little more urgently now.

"Dobe, be quiet!"

"Sasuke goddamn it! Why the fuck does our enemy look exactly like you?"

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Hrm, will it be rotten fruit or fireballs hurled at me this time? Yep, I'm an evil evil person right? But c'mon really, who saw that coming? You gotta admit I'm good for a surprise shock every now and then.<em>

_ Now I know the reactions I get at this point will be pretty tied. Half of you will be WTF, wow, I didn't see that coming what a huge twist. The other half will be going, but Dash that's so stupid! How the hell could Sasuke be behind it all? Well you'll have to wait for the next chapter I'm afraid, it's not over yet and all I'm saying is it's not all Sasuke's fault. Yep, that's it, no more spoilers. All I ask is that you save hurting me till you've gotten the full explination. Initially the big reveal wasn't even going to be in this chapter but PJ talked me 'round otherwise you would have been left guessing about all of it till chapter 14. _

_So at this point it also looks like chapter 14 will be the last, so even if you hate me now, at least read the last chapter since you made it this far cause I really doubt at this point there will be a chapter 15. Hopefully chapter 14 will have so many other things to answer as well like will Sasuke wake the fuck up to himself finally or will he keep going in his plot for revenge. Will they separate, will we get a happy ending? The answers to these somewhat exciting questions and more in the next chapter!_

_ Till then,_

_ Dash._


	14. Dreams About Holding on to Hope

**_Important Note: _**_Um not the last chapter after all…my bad. Still another one to go. And sorry for the late update, the chapter was done a while ago however my beta has gone MIA and must be busy, poor girl. So I apologise for the lateness and the bad editing, but I figured it was better than you all having to wait even longer. I will attempt to get the next chapter out a lot quicker and will upload the properly edited chapters as they become available. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out very soon edited properly or not._

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 3**

**Chapter 3 (14)**

**Dreams About Holding on to Hope.**

"Um…Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly after a few moments of staring as the Uchiha opposite them stared back with a profound smirk.

"This has got be some trick," Sasuke muttered.

"No trick, why bother?" Was the reply. "I have you both exactly where I wanted you from the beginning. Think of our fight just now as a test of your resolve."

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed a little more urgently now.

"Dobe, be quiet!"

"Sasuke goddamn it! Why the fuck does our enemy look exactly like you?"

It was true, standing across from them was an exact likeness of Sasuke right down to the arrogant smirk and the slightly bored eyes.

"I'm not really your enemy," Monster Sasuke pointed out.

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "You aren't me. Don't you think I'd know if I was doing this? And why the hell would I trap and hurt myself in my own genjutsu?"

"Perhaps because you don't really like yourself very much. Besides, what's a little pain compared to the bond you two, or rather we, now share? I mean I knew deep down that I wanted to know that someone really did care about me as much as they seemed to, but not even me, your own subconscious, ever thought you two would end up fucking like rapid bunnies in spring."

"Wait, wait, wait," Naruto said imploringly, holding up his hands. "I feel like we skipped to the middle somewhere. Can someone explain to me how Sasuke is responsible for this without actually knowing he was?"

"Ah good, one of the easy ones. You might say that Itachi sort of had a hand in that."

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes.

"Well you've seen how Itachi can set up traps when he tried to take out Madera using you and Amaterasu. Think of this as a genjutsu trap using Naruto here and your own subconscious against you. Itachi set it up before you killed him. He knew you had gone off the path he'd wanted for you. He wanted to set you back on the right path but of course it wouldn't work unless there was some part of you that wanted it too. He also seemed to think that part of you might have a lot to do with Naruto here. He put his little trap in Naruto and the next time you two saw each other it activated, drawing you both into the trap together."

"I would have noticed," Sasuke persisted stubbornly.

"Your Sharingan was just about spent by that point. It was lucky at all that the trap was able to utilise what little chakra you did have left to spring into action. Itachi has used your own chakra for his traps before, it wasn't difficult for him to do it again. All you had to do to trigger it was for some small part of you to want to come back. Naruto got to you, you even acknowledged that yourself before in the cave. You wanted Naruto to love you like you thought deep inside that he might but would never let yourself believe was true. Your whole being wanted to reach out to him then to know if it was true and that was the spark that got everything started. The genjutsu trap activated and then it was up to your own subconscious to keep it on track. That small part of you that wanted to go home, to believe that Naruto really cared about you, the part of you that wanted to stop fighting was what drove the dreams. And that part of you is me."

"That's a little far-fetched isn't it?" Naruto asked unsure.

But all he had to do was to look at Sasuke to see that what Monster Sasuke was saying must have some truth to it.

Sasuke had told Naruto in the caves that there was a part of him that badly wanted to know whether Naruto really cared about him because it was driving him nuts not knowing and making him doubt his plans. And that small indecision, that little weakness in Sasuke was where Itachi's trap had buried itself, hiding itself even from it's own controller.

But still, "Tell me something only Sasuke and I would know."

Monster Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Alright fine. One morning on mission when we were about twelve you woke up cuddling me and drooling onto my shoulder. When I caught you I decked you and swore at you till you left the tent."

Naruto winced remembering that. He'd been sharing a tent with Sasuke. He had thought at the time that Sasuke was his pillow. It had been an innocent mistake at the time, but Sasuke had lost his nut at the intrusion into his personal space.

"Of course what you, Naruto, don't know and we do is that I was actually awake for about ten minutes beforehand. I didn't wake you up because I thought it felt nice. But once you woke up I got angry for thinking such things and took it out on you instead."

Naruto looked across at Sasuke to see him with a faint blush on his cheeks. Holy Crap! He didn't know Sasuke was capable of blushing!

"So this is all really true then. Sasuke was behind this the whole time?"

"An unknowing part of him, yes. And look at you both now. You have grown together, learnt to depend on one another without issue and you've shown you can work together too." The monster Sasuke's eyes flicked over to his counterpart. "This is the future Itachi wanted for us, and Itachi knew Naruto would be the one to be able to show you how to get here. All you needed was a little push. You need to place blame where blame is due and not on the lives of the innocents whose peace Itachi strove to preserve with his very life. At first he never wanted you to blame _them_, he wanted you to blame _him_. But before he died I think he just wanted you to not blame anyone and instead enjoy the peace he intended for you. Do you think you can do that now? For yourself?"

"How do you really know what Itachi wanted?" Sasuke asked sceptically. "You're only me and he didn't tell me the truth himself."

"You think the dreams were the only thing to trigger? His motives were imbedded in me. I know what he wanted for you."

"It's a bit elaborate isn't it? Why not just visit me in a dream himself?"

"That's easy: because you wouldn't have believed him. I doubt you would have come to this point without the hardship that went into it. Naruto is right about you; you do not believe what is real until it is proven to you with action. I maintain this was the best way to put you on track and assure that you have the right motivation to stay there this time."

"How could Itachi know that his little trigger would work anyhow? And I still don't believe I could have been doing this without knowing."

"So confused, so desperate to reach out, can you really be _that_ surprised that you did reach out without knowing what you were doing?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied honestly.

"Well you know, Itachi knew better. If there was any hope of you reaching out, he made sure a small buried part of you would unknowingly exploit it."

Sasuke was staring at the ground by the other Sasuke's feet. He seemed to finally be starting to believe what he was being told. "So Itachi did do this?"

"Yes and no. Itachi just provided the means but you were the one that kept it going. And if you weren't so self involved and oh yeah, amazingly insane, you might have worked it out for yourself. Didn't you ever wonder why the dream manipulation came so easily to you? Didn't you wonder that even though Naruto had stopped dreaming for months why the dream never stopped? You say it didn't disappear because it knew Naruto would come back. Genjutsu's aren't thinking entities. The dream stayed alive because _you_ believed Naruto would come back to you, just like he always does. You wanted this Sasuke, deep down you were reaching out for help from the only person you really felt could help you deep down," Monster Sasuke smirked at him, "The subconscious mind can be a funny thing, can't it? It knew, the me part of you knew, what you wanted more than you can even admit to yourself. And all it took was that one little moment of doubt from you when you and Naruto fought that last time to start this all up. Itachi might have planted the spark in the both of you, but it was your will that kept the dream on track. Every time something was proved to you that he cared enough to help you, the dream changed.

"The forest was designed to give you space, freedom to move but also provided the opportunity for the two of you to never come in contact if that's what you both desired in the end and it would have ended there if you had. But you talked without fighting and so the dream moved you somewhere different.

"Somewhere where you could still isolate yourself, the cove, but you were never very far away from one another. You had space to think for once, but Naruto was always in sight, your constant comfort. That is where you regained your friendship.

"The caves forced you two together in close quarters with each other. He was always with you and it made you talk to each other, to get things out in the open. I must admit, even your subconscious didn't foresee your regained attachment quite going to the level that it did, but it _is_ what you wanted, even if you never really believed he felt so strongly about you.

"The fields gave you scope, it was designed to allow you freedom again, to make you feel like you weren't trapped in your life and you could anything you wanted. Unfortunately, this didn't work. You didn't follow the projected route this time. You became adamant that the dreams were better than real life because you had everything you wanted. You had half a life filled with comfort and caring and the other life where you were still seeking your revenge. And in the end it went wrong for three main reasons. The first one was because you had started to mess with the dreams, make it too much your own when it was never meant to be permanent. The second was because of your obstinate refusal to move ahead with your life and meet with Naruto in the real world. The third was simple; you were starting to lose him. He had started to suspect you didn't want to meet because you didn't care about him as much as he did you. If it had gone on for much longer he would have stopped dreaming by choice. I couldn't let that happen. But even your punishment had a design.

"The misty woods were a danger, it was to show you that the dreams were not where you belonged, not your personal getaway and I blocked your power too. I could not block Naruto's though, I didn't have the same access to his mind as yours. This is why what he creates here was able to hurt me. But it doesn't matter, I never really wanted to block Naruto. I wanted you to have to rely on him, I needed you to get that trust bond back. It was meant to force you to work together, to show you the team you would both make if only you would band together. And you finally did. Congratulations, by the way, it took you long enough."

"So what great message was the desert setting supposed to convey then?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

Monster Sasuke shrugged. "Not everything has to mean something. I think it's beautiful. So did you, the first time you saw it. You've seen all these places before in one form or another though you obviously don't remember. I just plucked them from your mind and moulded them to suit my needs."

"Great, so you're telling me that I did this to myself? Why, to give me an 'out' of my current situation?"

"You always had an 'out', nobody ever forced you to continue on your chosen path but you. I suppose you might say it was reminding you of that. But it was also a lot about your need to see how great your bond could be with Naruto. Full points for that, by the way. I knew you wondered if your doubts stemmed from you just simply crushing on the one person who seemed to never give up on you. But who knew he was in love with you too? Well I suppose it does prove that some things are meant to be after all, doesn't it?"

But Sasuke hadn't quite gotten past the 'in love with' part. "Who said I was ever in love with him."

Completely forgotten Naruto winced. He might have gotten Sasuke to admit to loving him, but being 'in love' with someone was a bigger step entirely with what it implied. No wonder Sasuke had freaked out.

"Okay, so maybe you weren't at first. But I think you desperately wanted to be able to be. You wanted someone to understand you, you wanted someone to help you and deep down there was a small part of you that clung to the hope that Naruto really did understand you and care about you as much as he seemed to. You were confused by him and his determination, you wanted to know why and you also wanted to know why it made you second-guess your actions when he showed this to you. He loves you, it can't be so strange to think that you love him back. He is the lifeline that small remaining part of your sanity clung on to and now he will save you because you managed to hold on so hard."

"Save me?" Sasuke scoffed. "From what, myself?"

Monster Sasuke smirked at him. "I know you meant that to be sarcastic. But you are right and wrong. You no longer need saving from me, the nightmare monster. You are close to being on the track Itachi wanted for you and the one you longed for deep within yourself. The dreams are finished, they have run their course and there is no longer a need for them. What Naruto will save you from is indeed yourself. Though if none of this gives you that great epiphany you so sorely need to have, he still might end up failing."

By this point Naruto was thoroughly confused.

"Sasuke," Naruto asked the real one, "I don't get it. Did you do this or Itachi?"

"Haven't I explained this already?" Dream Sasuke asked in a slightly irritated tone. "Let me say this once more in simpler terms: Itachi created the connection when he came in contact with you both separately, but it was Sasuke's subconscious will that activated it. It was Itachi's hope that there was something left in Sasuke that truly wanted to be saved. And you with such a strong connection would probably be the most likely to draw that out of him."

"Well, why couldn't you just say that from the beginning!" Naruto exclaimed irritated. He still didn't totally understand what was happening but he did understand something important in all of this. "So if this dream was being controlled by Sasuke's subconscious or whatever, how come I almost died? Did he really want me dead?"

Dream Sasuke brushed it away like it was no big thing. "An unfortunate side effect. It wouldn't have occurred to him that you might suffer from the dreams, because _he_ wasn't. But isn't it funny that the moment he figured out a way for it not to hurt you the dreams restarted again for you? You popped back in like you were never gone just in time for him to start training you. Convenient, no?"

Naruto ignored the barb. After all Sasuke wasn't trying to kill him. Just the opposite. He'd had such an unconscious desire to reach out to him, to be with him that this had all started in the first place.

"So the dreams are really over?"

"Yes. Tomorrow you will start a new day where real life decisions will need to be made. Naruto, you understand what you want, you understood a lot earlier than Sasuke did believe it or not. It didn't take much for you to re-establish that bond you once used to care about with Sasuke. But Sasuke, you, we, had more to learn. Unfortunately though I'm not sure if you paid enough attention to the lesson. You might have woken up to yourself where Naruto is concerned, but your priorities are still uncertain. Not even I know the full implications of what that might mean to your future if you chose to ignore what Itachi tried to teach you with all of this. But it is a decision you will have to come to on your own anyway if you are ever going to feel right about it. But know this, there are certain parts of your own subconscious that will hate you, make you hate yourself, if you fuck this up now."

* * *

><p>It was so sudden. One moment Naruto was looking in between two Sasuke's staring at each other and the next he was waking up next to the real Sasuke who was just starting to stir. The last words dream Sasuke had said kept echoing in his mind though, over and over again.<p>

He really did hope that Sasuke had gained some perspective because the alternative would be an absolute nightmare.

For once Sasuke didn't do his cat-stretch yawn routine upon waking. His eyes just opened and he stared at the ceiling for a few moments, a pensive look on his face.

Naruto rolled over to face him, content to just watch his face for a few moments while Sasuke thought this revelation through. But as the minutes dragged on and he still said and did nothing else, Naruto started to get nervous.

"Sasuke?"

"Are you going to tell me how pissed off at me you are now?" Sasuke asked tersely.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "What? No, what gave you that idea."

"My own mind almost killed you. All this happened because my resolve was fractured."

"Um, you say that like it's a bad thing. Well the almost dying was, but I think it was worth it. At least I hope it was. And that doesn't depend on what you unknowingly did, it will depend on what you knowingly do now. Do you really think I would be all pissed off because there was a small part of you that didn't want to keep doing bad things? Nah, Sasuke, that gives me hope."

Sasuke looked at him then and it took Naruto a few moments to register what he was seeing. The expression didn't look right on Sasuke somehow because it was an expression he'd never seen before. He looked so broken, so unsure and Naruto realised what he was seeing was naked vulnerability in Sasuke's features. It was heartbreaking to see. And on Sasuke's face, which always seemed to reflect cocky self-assurance, it was a little disturbing too.

"I don't know what to do," Sasuke whispered.

For Naruto the choice was easy, a no-brainer. But he had to appreciate that all Sasuke had been focussing on for all this time, with every fibre of his being was now being called into question. How could anyone so easily shrug off everything they strove for and believed in without it feeling like you were being torn in two? Naruto imagined it was just like when he had to choose between Sasuke and Konoha. It was a choice that had given him a lot of grief in the past. And it was a decision he'd never completely settled in his own mind with any degree of certainty either. He figured that's pretty much how Sasuke felt now.

"You stop thinking about what's right for you and start thinking about others. If you make this decision selfishly, it will never sit right in your conscience."

"It's not that easy."

"The life changing decisions never are I guess, that's kinda the point. But I'm not gonna tell you what to do because I'm gonna be bias and you probably won't listen anyway. But the other you said: you have to decide this for yourself anyway, otherwise it'll be meaningless."

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. "You know, for a moron you are disturbingly deep sometimes."

Naruto smiled, "Yeah well, for an asshole you can be surprisingly nice sometimes. You must have some idea what you want."

"I need to think things through. I will decide tomorrow where my life will lead me. But I know what I want right now, for tonight at least, even if it turns out to be for the last time."

"Yeah? What's that?"

His eyes looked a lot clearer when he opened them this time. It was like in the woods when he realised what he wanted to do, that he wanted Naruto to find him.

"You."

* * *

><p>Naruto could feel that coiling anticipation in his stomach but he desperately didn't want things to end now. Right now he would have felt whole and almost total bliss if he didn't have the nagging little thought in the back of his mind that once this ended he wouldn't feel so happy or secure.<p>

Sweat soaked bodies slid against each other as Sasuke rocked them together, his head buried in the side of Naruto's neck occasionally making those delicious sounds that never failed to make Naruto's brain and heart spark.

He could hear his own heart beating loudly in his ears and realised that the reason Sasuke was pressed up against him so firmly was so that he could feel the rapid beat of it himself as well.

"Sas…Sasuke slow down. I…don't want it to…"

He didn't have to finish. Already at an agonisingly slow pace, Sasuke slowed down further his hips moving incredibly slowly and smoothly every time he pushed in further.

Sasuke had to know the reason behind the request. He also must realise this might be the last time they were together too.

Sasuke hadn't talked about what he would decide to do from here and Naruto wanted this, this not knowing, to last forever. If he didn't know, he couldn't be disappointed. If this went on forever he could be happy forever. When this stopped Sasuke might leave him again.

"Slower…please…"

TBC

* * *

><p><em>Notes: So yeah, you saw right, this isn't the last chapter as promised. I'm not sure if that will make people happy or angry, but this is just how it turned out. Basically the final chapter was getting too long. That's really all there was to it. Oh and I was a little stuck on the last half of the chapter too which contributed a bit. So not wanting for you all to have to wait even longer for one massive chapter I broke it down into two parts so you would get this part quicker. The chapter is a tiny little bit on the small side and probably seems even smaller considering the bulk of it was one long monologue for the most part, but it's not the smallest chapter I've posted for dreams so it's not that small. At least next chapter we can start new with a fresh scene. Next chapter will definitely be the conclusion and we will open with a big confrontation. <em>

_ But enough about that, there are a few people who will have been smirking through a lot of this chapter because yep, you called it. There were a lot of people who thought Itachi was behind the dreams and you were more than half right as it turns out. Yay._

_ Oh and just a side note about RM: Part 2 was still sent for beta with this chapter even though it didn't turn out to be the last. So as soon as I get it back I will post so please don't hurt me yet :) If I don't get it back soon I will post anyway and attempt to edit it myself._

_Review Comments unsigned or particularly relevant to the chapter:_

_**Mochiusagi** - you almost repeated verbatim in your review of chapter 11 about what each of the dreams meant to from the scene above which had already been written at that point, hence my reaction to your review lol._

_**Ugottalongway2go** – Yep, subconscious, you called it :)_

_**LostForever** – yep, you called subconscious too, nice guess!_

_**SweetXsunshine – **you were spot on, an Uchiha did put the genjutsu on him some time ago. Itachi no less. And he totally was exploiting both his greatest weakness and desire. _

_**Yu-chan** – sorry I didn't reply to your review at the end of the last chapter, I had a brain dead moment. So anyway, now you get replies for both chapters. First off, yay indeed for smut. Had to happen, what can I say even if it might have been on the milder side. I made your eyes twitch? I hope that was a good result of the teasing lol. _

_Yup, I have a shower fetish. I'm thinking to make it a trend in any multi-chaptered fic I write now to have one shower scene in it. Have I written on for WNL? If not: note to self. _

_Yay, blacky made it onto your list? Wow, I will have to make an even crazier character for you and see if I can't top it in the future lol. _

_Oh and you can't kill me yet, one more chapter to go. And besides killing me will only make me stronger ;) And hey, you were half right with Itachi, more than half right since he was the one who started it, so your want to kill me should only be half-hearted now lol._

_I can never seem to fit 'Sasuke' and 'romantic' into the same mindset. And honestly I never want to. He doesn't seem to me to be the terribly romantic type and in the two fics I've had Sasuke admit to being in love with Naruto (when he has command of all his faculties and memories) its always been dragged out in frustration. I'm glad you like it that way too so thanks for mentioning it._

_My cliffhangers are designed to make people hate me and want to burn my house down and look, it works! Haha._

_Glad you liked the Sasuke reveal too. _

_So you got your wish, there is another chapter. Perhaps it was my unconscious desire to fulfil that wish that was making this chapter too long lol. _

_**Crayolanostalgia** – again, as with Yu-chan, sorry I forgot to reply last chapter, I was in a rush and a brain dead headspace. But, better late than never huh._

_Firstly, thanks! Oh and Kanran orchids have a sort of musky/citrusy kind of smell. They grow in Japan if my memory serves and if my failing memory is right at all I think they are a coldish season orchid. But I can't remember with absolute conviction on that one._

_Ah yes, learning with faint overtones of smut, I don't know why this method of learning isn't used more haha. _

_**Segent thought** – Thanks muchly! Well again you were more than half right with the Itachi guess after all and look this is still the second to last chapter after all. Haha, I really mustn't underestimate my own ability to make my chapters longer than I first guess lol. So more one to look forward to!_


	15. Dreams About Not Letting Go

_Unbeated again, sorry guys. My beta is unable to get easy computer access at present. Will re-upload at a later date when things are better for her.  
><em>

_Just so you know, I'm going to mess with canon more than usual this chapter. My advice is to just go with it and have fun :)_

_Dash._

**Dreams Aren't Real**

**Part 3**

**Chapter 4 (15)**

**Dreams About Not Letting Go Without A Fight.**

**Five Weeks Ago...**

They were all packed up and ready to move on. They both stood by the entrance to the hideout, looking out and the fields in front of them, careful not to look at each other.

They hadn't spoken any more about what had happened in the last dream. Surprisingly Sasuke had apologised, sort of, in a very Sasuke way.

They had what may well be their last time together and then fallen asleep in a tangled exhausted heap.

They had woken, Sasuke did his cat stretch and Naruto felt that moment of contented happiness of waking up next to him again and not feeling the familiar loneliness of waking up alone.

And then they had packed up their things and departed for the surface without a word to break the thick silence between them. But then…

"I will stay with Madera," Sasuke told him abruptly.

Naruto couldn't help but feel crushed by the news. Of course he would. He'd warned Naruto that nothing would change no matter what happened. He wasn't breaking any promises but Naruto still felt hurt and shocked by the statement.

* * *

><p><strong>Now...<strong>

Naruto could sense the chakra build and flow inside him as he and the Kyuubi's chakra combined, covering his body in a flame like aura. And like real flames the chakra as always burned as it flowed through his body, but it was a dull feeling compared to the feeling of being filled up, completed and whole. He felt his limbs grow stronger, his until now flagging chakra reserves become refilled and another presence inside his mind like never before. No restraints, no fight and surprisingly no anger or hatred. It was an exhilarating feeling. He felt like nothing could defeat him now, he felt it in his very soul. Nothing could make his determination falter.

Well nothing could of course but one person. But he had yet to come, and that confrontation had to be pushed out of his mind for now. If he wanted to win, his concentration had to be in the here and now, not off daydreaming on the what ifs.

But it was a hard fight even after combining with Kurama. Even with his new strength and his new body it was a tough battle. Whoever Tobi really was, he was as tough as ever and it had taken both his and Bee's combined strength to hold off the first wave. But Bee wasn't with him now, he still had others to fight with Kakashi. Now it was only Naruto and Madera or Tobi or whoever he was. Perhaps his feeling of absolute victory had been nothing more than the rush of the chakra inside him and the surge of adrenaline that came with it.

He'd used a lot of chakra already before even getting to this point. He felt powerful still, but beating Tobi would have been uncertain even if he'd met in him battle fresh and ready.

Perhaps he still could lose.

Perhaps he wouldn't need to worry about who might show up now because the fight would be over before he got here.

Although…he could be wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>One Week Ago...<strong>

A figure hidden by the darkness of the night crept through the hideout silently going from room to room until he found the one he was after. Easing the door open, careful to keep it from squeaking, he slipped inside and across to the bed.

He leaned over the figure, who for some reason never took off his mask even while asleep and very carefully drew the mask down just enough to touch his finger gently to the sleeping man's forehead.

Even with the light touch the man woke up just as the mask went back into position and blinked up at the figure leaning over him, sleep hazy and taking a few moments to properly focus on the eyes above him. The meagre light coming from the spluttering candle across the room showed him two red eyes staring down at him with focus. For a moment his head felt a little heavy and then just like that it was gone.

"Sasuke, what do you want?"

"I want to know when we will begin," Sasuke asked evenly.

"And this question couldn't wait until morning?" The question seemed to have no impact on the young Uchiha and the masked man sighed. "Soon. Don't be impatient."

Sasuke nodded, straightened up and left without another word. Truly, that boy was getting stranger and stranger by the day. Oh well, soon enough it wouldn't matter anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>Now...<strong>

Naruto pulled his body back to its feet after a devastating attack that had hit him square on after he'd been distracted badly by another familiar chakra signature.

_**"Focus," **_Kurama warned.

Naruto wanted to say it was nothing he couldn't handle but lying wasn't going to solve anything at this point. He couldn't handle it, he was anxious about this confrontation and Kurama knew it.

_**"Naruto, don't falter now. You talked me into this, you'd better see it through."**_

_"I will," _Naruto said to Kurama trying to sound optimistic and failing badly.

_**"I know what happened between you and Sasuke. I know why you are so anxious. But you know what will happen, you must trust in what needs to be done. You can't be weak, he will know and that will not be a good sign."**_

_"I know that," _Naruto replied harshly. He didn't need the pep talk but he had to admit that Kurama was right. If Sasuke felt his resolve was weak it was over.

And then there he was standing by Tobi's side. One minute he was just a chakra signature in the wind, the next he was really standing there beside the enemy and watching Naruto without a trace of emotion.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

Evidently Sasuke had seen his lips move with his Sharingan.

A feral little half smile graced his lips when he saw that. "Naruto, you look…different."

And the understatement of the year went to Uchiha Sasuke. Really was that all he could think to say at a time like this? Apparently not.

"Are you ready for this, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and swallowed a big lump in his throat. In a way he felt relieved to hear Sasuke speaking, it eased his mind and bought him back to another time under a moonlit sky in a desert, in a skeletal forest filled with mist, in a green field sprinkled with red flowers, a cold cave overlooking the snow capped mountains, a small sunny coastal inlet filled with bright coloured fish and a forest filled with large trees and little tiny frogs living their lives happily in their little water filled flowers.

He felt his mind ease and relax.

"I'm ready Sasuke. I've been waiting for you."

He watched Sasuke walk toward him, his hair being blown around in the wind, the determined look on his face. Naruto watched him closely, ready for it to begin.

But he couldn't help but smile when Sasuke winked at him.

* * *

><p><strong>Five Weeks Ago...<strong>

"I will stay with Madera," Sasuke told him abruptly.

Naruto couldn't help but feel crushed by the news. Of course he would. He'd warned Naruto that nothing would change no matter what happened. He wasn't breaking any promises but Naruto still felt hurt and shocked by the statement.

"Sas-"

Sasuke held up a hand to stop him before he could continue. "I will stay with Madera for the moment. And then when we face one another and Madera tries to tear the Kyuubi out of you I will turn on him and we will defeat the bastard together."

Naruto thought his ears had betrayed him for a moment. He couldn't have just heard what he thought he'd just heard. Sasuke would never give up his vengeance for anything. But then last night the dream had basically told him that he was doing it all for the wrong reasons. He'd previously felt Itachi had been wronged, and he had, but his brother obviously hadn't wanted Sasuke on the path he'd set himself on. It wasn't what he'd sacrificed himself for in the first place after all.

"You really mean that?" Naruto asked. "It was what the dream said to you wasn't it, about Itachi and everything?"

"About Itachi, and about you. I am losing myself, I am driving myself insane because I think I know deep inside myself that what I am doing is wrong. I feel better now, everything is clearer and for once I have something I care more about than revenge."

"Really, what is it?" Naruto asked stupidly.

Sasuke just smiled and rolled his eyes at his moronic friend. "You really are very stupid sometimes aren't you?"

"Shut up teme! So you're going to help me defeat Madera, and then what? You're not going to disappear again are you?"

"No dobe. If I did that what would be the point? C'mon," Sasuke said to his shocked friend, "We'll walk as far as we can together and work out a plan of attack."

"Uh sure Sasuke. Hey, wait up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Now...<strong>

Quick as a flash, Sasuke turned and let fly with his kunai directly at Tobi, the blade of course going right through him. While he was distracted, Naruto launched himself forwards, raking at the ground where Tobi had been standing moments before. He had disappeared from there already and Naruto's head snapped over to the left when he heard the sound of laughter echoing across the clearing. He was only just within shouting range but his laughter was bright and upbeat despite just being betrayed.

"Really, _that_ was unexpected! Never did I think I would be betrayed by you, Sasuke. What about the vows you made to avenge your brother, does that mean nothing to you now?"

"Itachi never wanted this," Sasuke shouted back to him. "I can see that now."

"Oh. And what bought on this change of heart?"

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto for a fleeting second before his eyes snapped back toward their quarry. "You could say I've gained some perspective."

"Oh how my insane little avenger has fallen," was the fake lament returned. "Well top points for fooling me. And though it's a disappointment, it doesn't mean you still can't be used. You don't need to be conscious for what I have planned and then it won't matter what your tiny little brain thinks or that black shrivelled heart feels."

Tobi didn't seem worried and really, who could blame him? He was next to invulnerable simply phasing out every time anyone struck out at him with any sort of attack. The only thing the pair of them seemed to have going for them at the moment was that because there were two of them they could attack simultaneously. The plan, well, the hope, was to be able to keep the bastard too busy to fight back. Or at the very least to fight back with any great attack or teleport away.

And it seemed to be working to for the most part. Because of their training together weeks beforehand they had no trouble learning to predict each other's moves, follow through on each other's attacks and work together. Training to fight the Dream Monster had taught them more than just to understand their own deep buried feelings, but how to read each other and gave them the will to work together again. And they were, better than they ever had.

Naruto's fist flew through Tobi's midsection but as it passed through the other side he pivoted and ducked down just as Sasuke's sword passed over head, sweeping harmlessly through Tobi's neck.

Tobi wasn't even trying to dodge, not really, he didn't need to. He made to dodge a few times but the two-pronged attack he was facing didn't give him much chance to avoid the hits. He would dodge Naruto only to run into Sasuke's sword.

With his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to predict Tobi's moves almost perfectly. But just to make doubly sure, Naruto called in a few clones just to add numbers to their side and not let up.

To the outside observer this fight seemed to be going nowhere. While it was true, Sasuke and Naruto ducked and weaved around each other's attacks with apparently effortless ease, they never made contact with their enemy who remained uninjured while the pair of them would just wear themselves out.

But the fight was only about four minutes in and Sasuke was fresh to the battle and was in no way getting tired. Naruto however had been fighting for a long time and even his impressive chakra reserves were beginning to flag.

He was exhausted too and didn't dodge entirely quick enough to avoid a strong hit to his side. Pain flared along his ribs and he figured at least two had been broken in one impressive hit. His short grunt of pain must have been heard by Sasuke who, distracted, missed his mark and was kicked into the dirt next to Naruto.

Tobi took a few steps back and Naruto got the impression he was smirking at them, like a wave of smugness radiated from him. Naruto glared at Tobi, crouching and clutching his side while Sasuke rolled back to his feet and levelled his sword at the enemy.

"You two are capable of doing a lot more than this. You're resorting to hand to hand, I'm a bit disappointed," Tobi remarked.

"We have to start again," Sasuke told Naruto without looking at him, ignoring Tobi's words entirely. "Five minutes, can you move?"

Naruto got to his feet and gingerly felt his side.

_**"You keep hurting yourself like this and not even I will be able to heal you,"**_ an annoyed voice in his mind told him.

But despite Kurama's warnings Naruto knew he would be in more pain right now if he wasn't already beginning to heal a little bit. It was still going to be very painful, but he had to push through it.

"There you go doubting me again, teme. Let's get this over with."

Sasuke nodded and sprang to attack once more. Naruto followed up Sasuke's strike with thrown kunai and the battle was joined once more.

Replacement clones made up for Naruto's flagging speed, not that it seemed to matter. Sasuke must know as well as he did that this was probably their last chance. If they didn't succeed this time, Tobi might well actively try to kill the both of them, or suck them in with his teleport technique or whatever he did. The only thing they had going for them at the moment was keeping Tobi too busy to use his teleportation ability and the fact that he needed them both alive for the time being. But if they kept pushing it, he could very well just change his mind.

But this time it was working. Just a couple more seconds…

* * *

><p><strong>Five Weeks Ago...<strong>

"Five minutes, that's all it will take," Sasuke told him as they walked. They'd been going over battle strategy since leaving the hideout.

It wasn't like Naruto doubted that Sasuke believed this, but it seemed stupid. For someone as powerful as Madera it seemed strange that his ability to phase would have such a short time limit.

"Are you sure Sasuke? I mean, he's really powerful right?"

"I'm positive. We keep at him, force him to let our attacks pass through him and then we trap him. No big ninjutsu, do you understand?" Sasuke said sternly. "There's no point doing something big and draining your chakra if it's not going to impact. Just focus on hitting him and you can save your chakra in case we really need it. I won't be able to use hardly any chakra anyway, I will need everything I have to strike the final blow."

"Yeah, about that," Naruto began, still having issues with this part of the plan.

"I will have it set up," Sasuke interrupted confidently. "It won't fail."

"But he's an Uchiha. There's no way-"

"It's been done to an Uchiha before, it can be done again."

* * *

><p><strong>Now...<strong>

Just after the estimated five minute mark, Naruto landed a blow. It wasn't much of a blow but the fact that it made contact was victory enough. Tobi had started to get a little more frantic in his attempts to fight back in the last minute, apparently just starting to realise his position in this fight. But neither of them let up. Seeing him start to look for possible ways out gave Naruto renewed energy and Sasuke was so quick with that sword it was almost scary. But all of their attacks were designed to either kill or greatly wound. If Madera considered blocking any one of them in order to regain the upper hand and buy himself some time, he would only be taken down by the next already incoming assault. He couldn't risk it, just as Sasuke had predicted.

The hit that finally struck had not been so deadly in itself, Naruto had simply swept his foot low to take Tobi's feet out from under him. The fact that it connected meant Tobi fell and Sasuke, after slightly adjusting his incoming blow, followed through with his sword, driving it through Tobi's shoulder and into the ground beneath him. He immediately let go of the hilt and wrapped his hand around Tobi's neck quicker than the time it took Naruto to blink, and stared into their adversary's eyes.

Naruto watched Tobi's eyes widen for just a moment before Naruto took a cloth from his pouch and pulled the mask up just a bit to reach his hand inside and hold the cloth soaked in the very strongest sleeping potion over Tobi's mouth and nose.

It had happened very quickly and although Tobi managed to push Sasuke away so harshly that he end up on his back in the dirt, pull the sword free and roll away from Naruto, he only just managed to get one leg underneath him before he had to stop and put a sluggish hand to his head.

"What did you do to me!" He ranted at Sasuke who hadn't gotten up, merely raised his head to watch Tobi's attempt at standing.

Sasuke smirked at him. "Nothing I wouldn't unknowingly do to the person I love."

Tobi made one more attempt at rising but it failed. He ended up face first in the dirt, his mask askew and his breathing slow and even.

* * *

><p>Tobi looked around the darkened woods unsure about what had just happened or where he was. Had he managed to teleport? What had that punk done to him? He couldn't believe that such a simple tactic had almost undone him. It was ridiculous that all he had lived through, all he had planned for, could be destroyed by two boys in a punch up.<p>

But here he was away from those two. He must have managed to escape before passing out. But the fact that he didn't recognise where he had materialised had him a little worried. Those dead skeletal trees, the mist snaking its way around his feet, the full moon bathing the place in grey light and producing eerie shadows…

Someone stepped out of the shadows behind a tree in front of him and stopped underneath the pale moonlight. Dark hair framing his face, deep blood red eyes boring into his and sarcastic smirk plastered on his face.

"Sasuke," Tobi hissed.

"Broadly speaking," Sasuke replied. "We've won, you know that right?"

"You think you can still best me?" Tobi asked with mild surprise.

"You don't get it," Sasuke mocked him. Tobi then watched as the shadows began to swirl around Sasuke. They seemed to detach from the trees around him and mix with the mist creating a steadily increasing cloak of darkness around him. "You've already lost."

Tobi tried to teleport but couldn't. Nothing worked, no matter what he did. All his abilities were gone and with that realisation came the knowledge that Sasuke was right. He'd won, whatever they had done to him had him trapped.

Tobi watched as the last of the shadows covered up Sasuke and then the shadows began to reform into something more animalistic in shape.

"I was going to give you your chance at revenge. It's what you wanted most," Tobi told him.

"Apparently it wasn't what I wanted most. I care about something else more than that," a deep gravely voice replied.

"Well congratulations to you and your epiphany," Tobi replied with bad grace. "What happens now?"

The shadow monster started inching towards him. "I get to torture you. You're trapped in here and you can't stop it from happening."

"This world isn't real, I get that, it's just a genjutsu. So what can you really do to me?" Tobi mocked him.

"Considering what I was capable of doing to two people I actually like, I'm not sure you want to know. But we have at least three days I guess before your body dies in the real world. No resurrection, no coming back and you are no longer capable of stopping it."

Tobi looked into those oncoming red eyes and suddenly didn't doubt a single word.

* * *

><p>Naruto prodded Tobi with a toe, just to be sure. When Tobi didn't react he allowed himself a big sigh of relief.<p>

"Well that was easy."

"Speak for yourself," came a muttered reply.

Sasuke was still lying in the dirt, eyes closed and looking incredibly exhausted.

Naruto got onto his knees and leaned over Sasuke, concern etched into his features.

"Are you alright?"

"That took more chakra and energy than I imagined it would," Sasuke admitted.

"So I guess this means you figured it out."

Sasuke half smiled. "Obviously. Once I worked out how Itachi did it the tricky part was to start the trigger without him noticing. I had to do it beforehand of course, just like Itachi did. I'm surprised he didn't notice actually, but I made it as subtle as I could. Even an Uchiha didn't recognise what I was doing when he looked into my eyes. Activating it again, despite what it just took out of me was the easier part actually."

"Not that I'm not really impressed and everything, but why didn't we just kill him?"

"He might have sacrificed another eye to keep himself alive. I didn't want to risk that. If he had lived to carry out his plans, you would have died."

"So you reactivated the dream with Tobi. I guess we could kill him now and he couldn't do anything about it."

"No, leave him. I think he deserves a little time to really enjoy where his life decisions have bought him."

Naruto frowned. "You put him in there with the Monster version of you, didn't you? Doesn't this mean you're going to share the dream with him?"

"I guess I'm in for a few sleepless nights then."

Sasuke might have looked exhausted but he reached up and grabbed Naruto, rolling them both till their positions were reversed and Sasuke was grinning down at a surprised and slightly pained Naruto.

"Care to help me stay awake?"

"That really hurt! I think the bastard broke some of my ribs." Naruto let out a huff. "And you're still as perverted as ever."

Then Sasuke looked at him with an actual genuine smile on his face. It was like in the dream when Naruto had mastered waking himself up. He hadn't seen a smile exactly like that since that dream. It was almost like being back in it during those rare times when Sasuke seemed sincerely happy.

Sasuke had been wrong, when it all came down to it, it didn't have to be so complicated. He could be happy, he could be himself and he could have those things he'd wanted in the dream now that he'd chosen to follow a different path of his own free will.

"I missed you," Naruto said honestly. He could have been talking about his dream Sasuke, but actually it was the same person now after all.

"Well, that shouldn't happen again."

"Damn straight! If you run off again it's not going to take a dream to beat some sense into you, it'll be me!"

Sasuke leaned down till his lips were mere inches away from Naruto's.

"What makes you think it wasn't you that really got to me this time?"

Naruto didn't know how to reply to that, but it wasn't like he had to. Sasuke had followed that up by pressing his lips against Naruto's in a soft almost chaste kiss.

Unfortunately it was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared. Loudly.

They both stopped what they were doing and looked over to see Kakashi standing by the fallen body of Tobi with a single raised eyebrow while Bee stood a little behind him, fight weary but still with a weirdly pleased look on his face.

Naruto felt he should be very embarrassed but for once his face didn't feel like it was going to burst into flames as Sasuke helped him to his feet and they stood shoulder to shoulder in front of their former teacher.

"Did you two do this?" Kakashi asked as though he hadn't just caught them making out in the dirt.

"Sure Kakashi! He's asleep and wont wake up. Sasuke trapped him."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke for the longest time without comment before eye-smiling at the both of them and turning his back.

"Well, we better tell the others and take him back to headquarters," he called over his shoulder. "We have a lot more fighting still to do though before the enemy will realise they've lost their leader. I hope you two are ready for this."

"You can count on us Kakashi!" Naruto said enthusiastically, happy that at least one possible confrontation hadn't happened.

Bee hauled Tobi onto his shoulder and the four of them started heading out.

"So did your master plan of bringing me back include them cutting my head off when I step back into the village?" Sasuke asked Naruto as they walked.

He didn't seem hesitant about going, but it must have been on his mind.

"Are you kidding me? I'm the nine-tails Jinjuriki. If they lay a hand on you they'll be fucking sorry. After all I went through to get you back no one in the world is gonna have the power to take you away from me now. And besides, you practically handed them Tobi on a silver platter. What are they gonna do, imprison you for winning the war?"

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No!"

Sasuke smirked at him. "Real life complications, I told you so. You must miss the dreams at times like this, I do."

"Sometimes," Naruto admitted. "But you know, if you ever remember where that little cove was I think that might be a cosy place to revisit one day. Sun, sand…"

"Swimming naked."

"Well there's that too. Reality doesn't have to be so different, not anymore."

Sasuke looked at him and gave him one of those smiles.

"Dreams aren't real, _you_ told me that. Twice I think."

"Of course not. But reality is gonna be a whole lot better, you'll see."

Naruto felt Sasuke's fingertips brush against his as they walked.

"I already do."

**TBC….right now!**

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue.<strong>

**Two Weeks Later...**

Naruto was lying on his back in the water letting the salty water buoy him up and enjoying the gentle lift and dips in the slight swell.

"So, out of every place the dreams could take you this was the place you most enjoyed?" Sasuke asked him treading water beside him.

"That wasn't the question you asked before we came. I liked the forest a lot, those little frogs were awesome. The caves were…" Naruto paused here to turn his head and give Sasuke a significant look, "pretty interesting too. But I gotta be honest, I like this one the most."

"Is it because we started talking to each other again, or because I kissed you here."

Naruto grinned. "Actually it's 'cause I liked looking at the coloured fish," he joked.

Sasuke watched him for a few moments before lunging forward and dragging him under the water with a big splash. Sasuke held him tight as he dragged him under the water where he held him for a few moments, looking into eyes that were even bluer than the water surrounding them before closing his own eyes and kissing waiting lips.

Until of course he felt himself be playfully pushed away and Naruto struck out for the surface for some much needed air. Sasuke broke the surface a few seconds later.

"Gah, teme! I mean not that it's a bad way to go, but you could always kiss me when you have less of a chance of killing me at the same time."

"I could," Sasuke answered with a smirk. "But I can kiss you whenever I want, that's the whole point. And if you don't want to be drowned, you shouldn't mock me.

"I'll keep that in mind. Boy, it sure is nice here though."

"Really, is this the only place you wanted to go?"

"Of course not. I want to go everywhere, revisit everything. The Monster, well you, told us that all the places we went, it was from your mind right? We found this place didn't we, we should be able to go visit them all."

"That's a lot of places."

"We have time," Naruto said confidently. "The village will still be there when we get back. Right now we can do whatever we want."

Sasuke swam up closer to him, using his legs to keep himself afloat while his hands rested against a warm tan chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath his fingers beat just a little bit faster with his touch.

"Sounds like a plan. Sounds almost like a dream itself."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, but then, "Except this is real and so much better."

**The End.**

* * *

><p><em>Notes: Well…. I'm not entirely sure if I should be ducking or not at this point. I'm not happy with the fight, it was perhaps too simple and too short, but I am happy with the little conclusion. Both of them. Anyway, it took me a while to work this chapter into my head so I hope you enjoyed it and it was a fitting end to the fic.<em>

_Now before I get blasted about cannon stuff, please understand that when I started this fic and also when I started adding bits to the chapter, the manga was still quite a ways from where it is now. Hence the huge difference. Like I said, best to just go with it :) _

_ Anyway I want to thank you all so much for reading and especially those who took the time to review. I've had a lot of fun talking about and discussing all the aspects of the fic as it was written and please don't underestimate how much I appreciate it. _

_ Oh and as a little add-on I must have mentioned how much I use music as inspiration for fics and which songs I listen to and so on because I've had a few people now ask me about it. So I decided to include a special mention for a song I was listening to when doing my re-read which I think is amazing and fitting. The song is called 'No Light, No Light by Florence and the Machine' so if you get into the mood, have a listen and think back on all those lovely dream moments :)_

_Hugs,_

_Dash._

_**Unsigned Reviews: **_

_**Yu-chan – **I know, I'm bad for cliffies sometimes. But at least this time you didn't have to deal with one lol. _

_Well Blackie was probably the good Sasuke out of the two as it turned out but at least that showed that some part of Sasuke could be good. I don't know if I am able to help with positive decision making but if I did in any small way I am very glad :)_

_Wow, top 2? I will have to create some more Ocs (not that blackie was technically one) or other crazy personalities to make your list and see if I can beat that lol. I loves a challenge._

_You might have told me you love me, but I am confused as to why that might make you want to burn me. But for you Yu-chan I will take it as a compliment :)_

_I hope your graduation was fun and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Many hugs to you Yu-chan!_

_**Segment thought** – haha, yeah bet that would have been a shocker for Itachi that his little dream world set up turned into a convenient place for the boys to get all cosy with one another lol. _

_Anyway I hope you enjoy the last chapter ST, hugs to you too!_


End file.
